Florence Wing in new Wing Library

Efficient, practical and helpful describe Cotton as state superintendent.
In pursuit of equal opportunity, he proposed the first state aid
law, defined elementary and high school standard courses of study,
backed consolidations and improvement of rural schools, encouraged
industrial and vocational education, and urged and got legislation to raise
standards of teaching and increase teachers' salaries.

He was training teachers long before he came to La Crosse. His
monthly bulletins written to improve and inspire teachers covered courses
of study, suggestions about writing, good behavior, the value of art work,
Arbor Day, how to secure licenses, and much more. They reflected the best
educational thought of the times.

Again and again, in writings and public statements, he told teachers
they were the most important part of the educational system. "The
greatest factor in any school is the teacher. Indeed, the entire success of
the school as an institution depends on this factor," he wrote. And again,
"The teacher becomes a model of the children whether he would or no. It
is not sufficient then that he be a good instructor merely. He must
possess ... personality which by its presence teaches."

President Cotton's inaugural address at the new Normal School was
eloquent about teachers: "The teacher makes the school what it is - a joy
or a sorrow to childhood, and it is the personality that counts."

Putting his ideas into practice, Cotton took charge of the "Country
School Course." He wrote articles, much like his Indiana bulletin pieces,
for the Racquet. "Training Grade Teachers" appears in the first issue with
his byline. He addressed all the students at assemblies held three times a
week His topics included Lincoln, Horace Mann, cliques, the importance
of correct speech, and all aspects of education.

The students loved him. The first yearbook (1911) was dedicated to
President Cotton "in recognition of the high esteem in which he is held by
all with whom he comes in contact in his present position, and by the
students in particular."

Cotton left an indelible mark on La Crosse by strongly supporting
physical education as a specialty for the school in 1913. Only the Normal
College of the American Gymnastic Union (from which Dr. Carl B. Sputh
graduated) and Harvard prepared teachers of physical training at the
time. Cotton hired Sputh, then a young Indianapolis physician, to
organize the P.E. school. High standards and thorough training became
the mark of La Crosse P.E. graduates, who were soon in demand
throughout the country. La Crosse Normal School thus became one of the
outstanding physical education institutions in the country.

Asked to resign because the school was $172.03 in debt, Cotton left
La Crosse in 1924. He did write the book the students predicted he would.
He published "Education in Indiana" 10 years later.

"As an example to set before
students of physical education, a
better man cannot be found," said
the 1922 yearbook of Walter
Wittich. Wittich's efforts as director
of the PE Department from 1918 to
1953 helped establish our national
reputation in the field. Wittich believed
in a well-rounded education
to improve the whole person. A
painter, writer, musician and
sportsman, he exemplified that
ideal

"Florence Wing, though small of
stature,
Filled their hearts with fear
and trembling.
For her duty was to keep them
Always in their rightful places."

Librarian Florence Sherwood
Wing, described in a poem by the
class of 1911, kept students in their
"rightful places" for 41 years. In
1909, she took charge of 1,000
books; she left nearly 38,000 when
she retired. Wing Communication
Center, built as a library, is named
in her honor.

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

A Time to Remember    12

Milford Cowley

From 1909 to 1935, Bessie Bell
Hutchison's warmth and scholarship
made her a respected teacher
and a student favorite. Her "pep
talks" at Homecoming were legendary;
she had no equal at arousing
student enthusiasm for school
events.

English students couldn't forget
the "sight of Bessie Bell standing
before the group with tears streaming
down her cheeks reading her
favorite bits of poetry aloud that
they might catch the significance of
the poet's thoughts.

"Tom isn't dead yet and won't be
for some time, but if you would see
his monument, look round about
you.

"Tom" was Thomas Morris, the
state senator who pressured the
legislature to build a normal school
in La Crosse. Congressman John J.
Esch paid tribute to Morris at the
dedication of the school in 1909. As
first regent of the school Morris
chose Fassett Cotton as president
and, with Cotton, selected the first
faculty. His monument, now called
Main Hall, stands today. Morris Hall
bears his name.

Milford Cowley served more than 40 years as a chemistry department
faculty member, but the experience he remembers most came shortly after
he began his new position in September of 1933. Materials he was using
for a demonstration became contaminated and exploded. He was badly
burned and spent five weeks in the hospital.

That first semester at then La Crosse State Teachers College also
held some pleasant memories. Cowley says students in his first chemistry
class were "good students, quite responsive." At the end of the semester, "I
felt about 30 percent of them deserved A's."

The good students continued to enroll in Cowley's classes. And many
of them went on to success. There was Don Herbert who, after earning
degrees in science and drama, became television's "Mr. Wizard." Merle
Evanson, a UW-Madison researcher, was also one of Cowley's students. So
was John Bibby, now a UW-Milwaukee professor. Cowley remembers
teaching Barbara McBain, the first woman to complete a chemistry major,
who continued in the field. "It's a great source of pleasure to me to see
people I've had in classes go on and become important in their fields."

Besides being impressed by his students, Cowley had great respect
for the other faculty members, many of whom had been at the college
since it opened in 1909. "They were quite influential in determining
policy," he says. One of them was Adolph Bernhard, then chairman of the
chemistry department. "Although he had his own method of teaching, he
was helpful to me. He gave me a lot of assistance."

Cowley followed Bernhard as department chair and served 30 years
in the post, held by only three faculty members in the school's 75-year
history.

In addition to teaching chemistry, Cowley was also assigned math
and science courses at the Campus School, the experimental or "model"
school located on campus to train student teachers. He says he especially
enjoyed teaching there and working under Campus School director Emery
Learner. "He was a strong advocate of progressive education," says Cowley.
"He encouraged teachers to be innovative and try experimental procedures
with the students."

In the 1930s Cowley remembers, the school "operated under a school
code of behavior that was strict. There was no smoking in the buildings
and if any students got in trouble with the law, they were kicked out of
school." There were 600 students when Cowley first came. By the time he
retired in 1974, enrollment had grown to 8,000.

"The growth of the institution by that amount made changes in how
we operated," says Cowley. "There was less contact among faculty with one
another outside their own department. We lost some of that feeling of
common knowledge of what the institution was doing."

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    13

Hans Reuter with students, 1961

The school's enrollment took a step backward during WWII,
when students numbered less than 400. During the war years, Cowley
served as acting registrar and acting dean of men. In the late 1950s, he
was a member of the committee that established the original graduate
program. Soon after, he helped in the planning for construction of
Cartwright Center.

He feels his most rewarding experience was as chair of the building
committee that planned the science and math building, later named
Cowley Hall. "I am honored to have it named for me," he says. "It's a great
source of pleasure to me."

Although growth caused the loss of the "family" feeling at the
University, Cowley sees it as a positive step. "It's large and productive and
I think it's still a very good school. The faculty members have always been
interested in doing a good job for the students, and they still are."

Why did Cowley stay so long in one place? He admits when he first
came during the Depression, "any job was something you hung onto." But
as the years went by, "I was enjoying my work here. I never thought of
leaving."

Now 80 years old, Cowley says he's spent the past 10 years following
his retirement by traveling and doing some research, but mostly "taking it
easy."

Faculty with 35 or
more years of service

Pauline A Abel (1943-1982)
Alvida M. Ahlstrom (1931-1968)
Rena Angell (1912-1951)
Agnes T. Breene (1924-1959)
Jessie Caldwell (1923-1958)
Milford A. Cowley (1933-1974)
Ernest J. Gershon (1946-1982)
Alice Hagar (1947-1982)
William M. Laux (1922-1963)
Ferd John Lipovetz (1920-1963)
Leon W. Miller (1926-1967)
Ruth A. Nixon (1945-1984)
Hans C. Reuter (1920-1956)
Theodore Rovang (1927-1966)
Martha Olea Skaar (1919-1964)
Arnold L Temte (1949-present)
Myrtle Trowbridge (1918-1954)
E. William Vickroy (1948-present)
Everett L. Walters (1920-1958)
Orris O. White (1914-1952)
Clayton A. Whitney, Sr. (1915-1952)
Emma Lou Wilder (1921-1956)
Florence Sherwood Wing
(1909-1950)
Walter J. Wittich (1916-1953)
Emerson G. Wulling (1938-1973)

"He had a wry sense of humor..
history would come alive during his
lectures." William Laux, here
described by a colleague, taught
history and languages for 40 years
beginning in 1922. He chaired the
History Department, became first
director of the school's Division of
Letters and Science, and helped
design the college seal

Laux described the ideal teaching
experience as "an intellectual
encounter between the teacher and
the pupil"

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    14

Hanging of the Lantern

Anna Thomas


One of the original faculty,
David O. Coate was the first head
of the English Department. He helped
organize the La Crosse Drama
League, a forerunner of the La
Crosse Little Theater Group. During
his 29 years here, he founded the
Buskin Club (drama), advised the
yearbook and newspaper staffs,
and organized the first fraternity
on campus.

"Because of him I still read his
poets and can dash off some
Browning," wrote a 1920 alumnus.

A nationally recognized expert
on rural education, Alice Drake was
invited to a White House conference
on the subject by President
Franklin Roosevelt.

From 1931 to 1962, she taught
in the English and Rural Education
Departments and directed the
Elementary Education Division. The
Drakels, an organization for students
completing their education in
the elementary division and those
who entered college at an
advanced age, was named in her
honor.

UW-La Crosse holds two different sets of memories for Anna Thomas.
She remembers what it was like when she was an ambitious physical
education transfer student from Mankato, Minn., arriving in La Crosse in
1930. She also treasures memories from another perspective -- as a
physical education faculty member who taught 26 years at the same
institution where she was educated.

In 1930, Main and Wittich Halls were the only two buildings on the
campus of La Crosse State Teachers College. Thomas remembers Wittich
Hall had just been remodeled with new facilities for women in addition to
a new pool and gymnasium. But she recalls the physical education faculty
members did not confine students to indoor activities. They conducted
classes on the nearby fairgrounds, the bluff roads, the golf course and, in
winter, the Pettibone Park lagoon.

Thomas remembers many of her instructors -- Hans Reuter, Walter
Wittich and Emma Lou Wilder. "Emmy Lou was my idol," says Thomas. "I
thought, 'Boy, if I get to be a tenth of the woman she is, I'll be happy."'
During her first year at La Crosse, Thomas lived with two different
families in homes that are still standing despite all the development near
campus. The second year, she lived with eight girls in another private
home, where they rented the entire upstairs. Individual apartments were
unheard of at that time because "nobody had that kind of money."
Thomas says students usually ate their meals in the school cafeteria in
Main Hall.

Thomas graduated in 1932 and earned a master's degree in 1941
from New York University. In 1944, she was offered a faculty position at La
Crosse. "That was a thrill," she says, adding she never thought she would
have a chance to become a colleague of the teachers she respected so
much. She was regarded "just as an equal, believe me. There was no
looking down on me."

Her teaching duties were concentrated in children's games and
activities and women's sports -- soccer, badminton and speedball. Her
salary that first year was $2,000.

Thomas continued her involvement in Delta Psi Kappa, a professional
physical education fraternity. She had joined as a student. As a
faculty member, she served as advisor for 22 years. She also was a member
of the committee that established the Faculty Senate and served on the
first Senate in the mid 1960s. Rexford Mitchell, the president of the
College, was very supportive, Thomas remembers. "He said, 'It's about time
you faculty people took responsibility for governance.' He kind of pushed
us into it."

Thomas was heavily involved in student scholastic development and
social activities, putting in hours as physical education curriculum
committee secretary and program planning advisor. She remembers a
program she and Miss Wilder coordinated to follow up on graduates in
their first year of teaching.

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    15

Science class in Main Hall

Women PE faculty, from left, Alice DeBower, Virginia
Congreve, Beatrice Baird, Anna Thomas, Emma Lou Wilder.

But Thomas had begun to see a change in the campus, in both the
students and the faculty members. In the early 1950s "as the College
switched to the state system, we lost the personal touch here," she feels.
While "we knew everybody" as a small teachers college, the growing
numbers of students and expanding departments resulted in a less
personal atmosphere.

Thomas found new kinds of physical education students in her
classes. "In the early years, we had the kinds of students with no
particular background who were good in many sports," she remembers.
"They made terrific teachers. They were so teachable." She thinks students
became too specialized in areas in which they were comfortable. "They
had a tendency to look at you and say, 'What do you know about this
subject?"'

Thomas thinks the female physical education majors of the 1940s
had greater abilities than those of today. "Our girls back in those days
could do just about anything," she believes. "They didn't have a lot of the
bad habits the kids have today. They didn't have the drinking or smoking
habits."

Thomas retired in 1970. But that didn't make her a stranger to the
University. Already a charter member of the Alumni Association, she now
does regular volunteer work for the Alumni Museum. She contributed
memorabilia for display in the museum and encouraged other alumni and
faculty members to do the same.

This year, Thomas was honored twice for her outstanding contributions
to the University, first with the College of Health, Physical Education
and Recreation "Excellence Award." She was one of 12 former HPER
faculty members honored for working at least 20 years in their
professions and being nationally recognized for work in education,
specific programs or publications. She also was presented with the
Chancellor's Award, given to people who have served the University and
shown outstanding loyalty.

The Chancellor's Award is one Thomas especially treasures. "I'm so
flabbergasted. I've hardly come down to earth yet."

"A stranger I sought you - years
ago - awe inspired;
Neighbor, now I chat and brag
of you acquired."

Orris O. White's tribute to
Grandad's Bluff was one of many
poems he wrote about nature in the
Coulee Region. An English teacher
from 1914 to 1952, White was
famed for his "beautiful and sensitive"
reading of poetry. White
served with the YMCA in France
during WWI and originated
the Homecoming lantern tradition
in 1931.

"One of the most outstanding
women's swimming and diving
instructors La Crosse State ever
had," Betty Baird taught physical
education here from 1947 to 1962.
During those 15 years, she advised
the Catalina Club and the Tumbling
Club. After her untimely death
in 1963, a residence hall was
named for Baird "in recognition of
her great courage in adversity."


A Time to Remember    16

Effie Jensen Jewett in 1984

"Miss Cartwright's outstanding
trait as a dean of women was her
ability to relate in a positive way to
all students -- the men as well as the
women," wrote a colleague.

For 28 years Edith Cartwright's
work with students includedd duties
in financial aids, counseling and
testing, housing and job placement.
Her contributions, along with those
of Joe Gunning, provided the basis
for our present student services
structure. The student union, built
in 1959, was later named for her.
Upon her retirement in 1969,
President Samuel Gates lauded her
as "a dean among deans, who has
no peer as a dean of women."

For 37 years,from 1915 to 1952,
Clayton A. Whitney taught geography.
"I remember Mr. Whitney,
how simply he made the rotation of
the earth come alive," remembers a
former student. He assumed the
duties of president three times,
twice with Albert Sanford.
Whitney's deep interest in students
was particularly evident in his
direction of the La Crosse State
Teachers College Foundation which
provided loans to needy students.

Effie Jensen Jewett

Growing up in a rural area near Spring Grove, Minn., Effie Jensen
Jewett had a dream. That dream was to be a teacher.

After her family moved to La Crosse when she was 12, her dream
remained with her country roots. Effie wanted to return to the country as
a teacher. The opening of La Crosse Normal School made it possible for
Effie to fulfill her dream.

La Crosse Normal offered a two-year "Country School" course for
students preparing to teach in the one-room rural schoolhouse. Anyone
with an eighth grade education could enroll. That seemed tailor made for
her since she had not attended high school. She enrolled at the Normal
School in January 1910. In order to be available for a position by the fall
of 1911, she compressed her training into three semesters and a summer
session.

For the school's 75th anniversary, Effie Jensen Jewett recalled her
short time at the Normal. Her memories are a series of images; specifics
are hard to remember after so many years.

Jewett remembers people most. President Cotton was a tall, gray-haired,
"very impressive" looking man, she recalled. He often welcomed
students to school with a friendly "Good morning" from the south steps of
the building.

Lewis Atherton, the biology teacher, would always pose math
questions in terms of the students' social life. "That was his way of
putting humor into the class," says Jewett.

Two or three times a week, the entire student body met in the
auditorium for a special program, usually a lecture. Jewett's favorite
assemblies were the musical ones. "It would be a great treat when Mrs.
Cotton would play the violin at assembly," she reminisces. Mrs. Homer E.
Cotton, no relation to the president, was the music teacher.

Jewett also remembers other students -- Alice Combellick, Edith
Weiner and Cora Engebretson, all classmates who rode the streetcar with
her from the north side. Engebretson recommended Jewett to her first
employer.

Jewett has few memories of male classmates. That's because there
weren't many, perhaps two or three in the rural school course. "All the rest
were girls," she laments.

Because the school stood nearly alone then, the walk from the
streetcar could be very cold in the winter. "The wind could just whiz
through there, but I suppose I didn't mind it at the time," said Jewett.
Once at school, the students stayed all day. They carried their lunches in
brown paper bags and ate in the auditorium. "For refreshment, we'd take
a drink from the water fountain in the hallway," she explained. Of course,

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    17

Homecoming Hobo Parade

there were no pop machines. "The hallway was free of any encumbrances
of that kind," she jokes. "As I remember it, we were restricted as to talking
in the halls," she notes. And there wasn't any kind of lounge. The "Ladies'
Room" was where the female students went to visit between classes.

The school clerk, introduced to her by Engebretson, hired Jewett to
teach eight grades at the White School, a rural schoolhouse near Bangor.
She spent three years there, residing with the George Hemstock family
who lived a few blocks from the school. She remembers her first salary, in
part because it was "so awful." Jewett made $35 a month. From that she
had to pay room and board, "so I had a little bit of spending money left,"
she recalls, "but we didn't complain in those days."

She moved on to schools in Barre Mills and De Soto before leaving
her profession to become a "simple farmer's wife."

As a teacher, one of her jobs was to keep the furnace going in the
winter. She remembers getting up and going to school before breakfast to
stoke the fire so it would be warm when her students arrived. Kerosene
lamps sufficed for lighting in those days before electricity. Those lights
were "all right," says Jewett. The lamps got a good wash and shine before
each year's Christmas program and provided a warm glow for the
children's pageant.

With so many age groups in one room, discipline was sometimes a
problem. Jewett recalls an eighth grader named Benny who liked to "horse
around" during morning singing period. Although he was bigger than she,
she finally decided to put an end to his shennanigans and slapped him
with a ruler. "He never caused me any trouble again," she notes. Later, as
an adult, Benny lived next to Jewett. They were friends as well as
neighbors.

Such situations were not emphasized at the Normal School. The
focus, according to Jewett, was on the three Rs. She did not do any
practice teaching. "We were simply taught the three Rs and turned loose,"
she says. "Maybe we weren't too adequately prepared, but we used the
training we had to our best advantage. We went out with all the
confidence in the world." Confidence helped her fulfill her dream of
becoming a country school teacher.

Effie Jensen Jewett is still proud of that accomplishment. "I
obtained my objective, what I wanted to do with my life, by going to La
Crosse Normal School, and all in a very few years for very little money. I
really enjoyed it."

Grandview Dorm, 1950s

"If all the student has acquired
is contained in his notebooks, his
degree signifies little. But if he
possesses intellectual curiosity,
mental alertness, the power of self-direction,
and the ability to think
vigorously, he has achieved an
education. "

This was the philosophy of
George M. Snodgrass, who became
third president of the school in
1927. His persistent pressure for
new buildings resulted in a
women's gym, a heating plant, and
the start of the campus school He
died suddenly in 1939.

"Run a block, walk a block,"
Emma Lou Wilder urged her students.
As a PE teacher from 1921 to
1956. Wilder influenced our nationally
recognized program as well as
her many students. She worked for
the major in recreation and founded
the Women's Athletic Association
to promote intramural sports. Her
students remember her unflagging
energy and enthusiasm as she outran
her classes, skated on the
lagoon, played field hockey, led a
yearly overnight camp out on
Grandad's Bluff and always
"listened with her heart."

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    18

President Rexford Mitchell and Maurice Graff

"As I see the university, I see
everywhere the influence of Dr.
Mitchell, not merely in the land
which has been acquired, in the
buildings which have been built,
but in the people who have been
assembled here."

With these words, Regent
Eugene Murphy paid tribute to
Rexford S. Mitchell, president from
1939-66. Mitchell guided the school
through a period of growth in enrollment,
academic offerings and
physical expansion. Despite the inherent
difficulties accompanying
this growth, Mitchell responded
with "modesty, friendliness, and
understanding."

Faculty with 30-34 years of service

Lincoln K. Adkins (1916-1949)
Thomas Annett (1928-1962)
Margaret S. Chew (1945-1979)
Harold A. Classen (1954-present)
Carlin E. Dahler (1947-1977)
Clifton DeVoll (1952-1983)
Alice Drake (1931-1962)
Helen Clarke Dyson (1924-1958)
James A. Fairchild (1911-1941)
Oren E. Frazee (1920-1950)
Robert L. Frederick (1946-1977)
Howard R. Fredricks (1945-1978)
Floyd Gautsch (1939-1969)
Marshall A. Goff (1915-1946)
Marion D. Hammes (1947-1979)
W, Grey Konrad (1946-1978)
Merton J. Lyon (1916-1946)
Viggo B. Rasmusen (1947-1977)
G. Lester Steinhoff (1946-1977)
W. Carl Wimberly (1953-present)
Edith Irish Wing (1928-1961)

Lorna Dux Vafeas

When President Rexford Mitchell interviewed then Lorna Dux about
a job in his office in October 1944, he ended by inviting her to "Come
back tomorrow and we'll see how you like us and how we like you."

"I guess 38 years speaks for that," says Lorna Dux Vafeas, who retired
in 1982 after serving as secretary to five heads of the school: Mitchell,
Samuel Gates, Kenneth Lindner, Carl Wimberly and Noel Richards.

"Every one of them was so good to me," she says of her supervisors.

Lorna joined office staff Betty Pollack (Graff), Bernice Koblitz and
Marilyn Otto. She operated the switchboard, prepared dittos and stencils,
distributed the mail, sold student bus tokens and stamps, handled lost
and found, kept the school calendar and the "location file," reserved seats
for the school plays in Main Hall auditorium, and typed exams for all the
faculty. She became the manager of her supervisor's busy schedule and a
resource on anything of consequence that ever happened on campus. She
worked with faculty appointed by President Cotton and others who
became UW-L legends.

Edith Cartwright taught her physical education at Antigo High
School; they remain friends to this day. But Lorna's chief interests were
typing and shorthand, "the easiest thing in the world to me." She passed
the Civil Service exam after her junior year.

Lorna typed the history that Lincoln Adkins wrote for the local
American Legion. When he died, his daughter gave her his writing desk

Her friend "Trowby," Myrtle Trowbridge, adopted and raised a son, an
unusual thing for a single woman to do back then. Lorna still keeps the
knickknacks Trowby gave her.

Rena Angell painted a still life of flowers and gave it to her. Marie
Park Toland had "a beautiful garden" and saw to it that Lorna had flowers
in the office most of the summer. Agnes Breene was "very conscious of the
landscaping" and once "came in and scolded President Mitchell" about
maintenance men digging up a bush, recalls Lorna.

Jean Rolfe always called her "Lady Dux," even after Art Dux died and
Lorna married art professor Bill Vafeas. She used to go to Bill Laux for
advice during her eight years as a widow. Lorna was one of two people who
could call Theodore Rovang "Teddy." (The other was Everett Walters.)

Walter Wittich leaned over and told her, "I'll be lucky if they name an
old shed after me," during the Wilder Hall dedication.

Mauree Applegate Clack was "a person you'd never ever forget," says
Lorna. Clack gave her autographed copies of every book she wrote. Lorna
passed them on to Sam Gates's daughter, Christie, who followed Clack
into teaching.

She calls O.O. White "a honey," Alvida Ahlstrom "a real gem," Tommy
Annett "a rare character," and Mitchell "absolutely tops all the way
around."

They and many others on campus have called her a friend.

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    19

Main Hall Snack Bar, 1950s

Erhardt Oertel

"Maintenance. I didn't know I was going to enjoy it so much," says
Erhardt Oertel about his 30 years on campus.

He joined the staff as a fireman when Wilder Hall, the first building
to require round-the-clock heat, opened in 1952. Oertel retired as chief of
maintenance in 1982. In between, he did "a little of everything."

Everything is right. He helped install the air conditioning in the new
student union in 1959. He fixed up old gymnastic equipment for Ernie
Gershon. He shoveled snow with other staff and students during one of
the worst blizzards of the century in the mid-50s. He rushed to campus in
the middle of the night when heat went off in buildings. He got to know
the veterans living in quonset huts as they sought his advice about their
maintenance problems. He even got a temperamental old ball machine to
throw tennis balls correctly.

Along the way, he became a journeyman plumber and got a degree in
electricity by taking classes at the Westby REA. When the bowling alley
was built in Cartwright Center, Oertel went to Chicago for a course on
how to repair that equipment. He is proud of the fact that UW-L was the
only state university to service its own elevators.

"If I asked someone to do a job, I felt I better know how to fix it
myself. How can you make a decision about repairing something if you
can't do it yourself?" was part of his work ethic. "Students paid good
money. They deserved to be served as quickly as possible," he believed.

Thirty years produced a store of memories. There was the time the
workers' association (not a union then) met for a picnic. When it started
to rain, the group asked President Mitchell for permission to move the
picnic into Cartwright Center. It rained so hard that water began flooding
into Wittich Hall. "Everyone left the picnic to go help out," recalls Oertel,
"and without complaint." People felt a real responsibility to the school;
they were dedicated workers, he recalls.

Oertel remembers when Lorna Vafeas, the president's secretary,
called him because her office ceiling leaked. The leak turned out to be
acid seeping through the floor from the chemistry laboratory above. "I
used to kid her, 'That must be why your hair is gray,"' quipped Oertel.

There was also the time he discovered a German woman working as a
cleaning lady in Wilder. His parents had sponsored her many years before.
When she went back to Germany, the students gave her a big send-off. The
band even went to the airport.

Today, Erhardt Oertel grins as he pulls out his giant admission
ticket for all UW-L athletic events. It was a retirement gift from his
campus.

"She made the artist live and
the paintings come to life," wrote a
former student of Rena Angell. Two
years after coming to La Crosse
Normal in 1912, Angell accepted a
position in Florida, but President
Cotton convinced her to stay. When
she retired in 1951, she had been
here 39 years, longer than any
other professor. She was a longtime
advisor to Lambda Sigma Chi, now
Delta Zeta. The sorority established
a scholarship in her name. It is
awarded annually to a senior
woman.

Eugene Murphy represented La
Crosse on the Board of Regents of
State Colleges (later Universities)
from 1950 to 1971. Few people
surpassed his length of service in
the 100-year existence of the board.
His years witnessed a steady
growth in enrollment and the completion
of many campus construction
projects. The Eugene W.
Murphy library is a testament to
his years of service to the school.

"To those about to live -- live
more broadly and more richly --
greetings."

That was Ernest A. Smith's
favorite salutation to students and
the basis of his administrative
policy. Smith, who held the top post
for the shortest time of any of the
school's seven presidents, was a
superintendent of public schools
and a college professor before
taking the Normal School leadership
from 1925 to 1926.

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

A Time to Remember    20

Kenneth Lindner and Larry Nutter begin
campus beautification project

George Gilkey

Former chemistry professor
Kenneth E. Lindner dealt with
issues ranging from coed housing
and campus beautification to student
evaluation of faculty during
his administration. Named president
in 1971, Lindner's title was
changed to chancellor with system
merger. A major achievement was
the 1975 granting of full accreditation
for all programs by the North
Central Association. Lindner left his
post in 1979 to become secretary of
the Department of Administration
under Gov. Lee Dreyfus and returned
as a distinguished professor
in 1983.

George Gilkey made history at UW-La Crosse in more ways than one.
Not only was he a history faculty member for 29 years, but he also wrote a
book on the university's history. "The First Seventy Years: A History of
the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 1909-1979" was published in 1981.

Gilkey didn't intend to write an entire book. He says the project
began as just a chapter on UW-L's history. The chapter was for a book by
UW-River Falls history professor Walker Wyman on the history of all 13
schools in the UW System. Gilkey says interesting facts, figures and
personalities amounted to enough information for a book on La Crosse
alone.

He admits "it took awhile" -- about four years -- spending hours in
the Murphy Library Area Research Center, where he was given his own
place to work Besides using the center's materials, he borrowed research
papers from graduate students and files and tape recordings from former
faculty members and administrators.

The result was the 258-page book filled with historical notes,
biographical sketches, vintage and modern photos. While he did his
research and writing, Gilkey says he was impressed by many facts
unearthed from the archives, but two things in particular. "I was struck by
the fact that graduates from this institution went so far to teach and that
so many were women." He feels it was highly unusual, especially for
graduates from the early years, to travel thousands of miles for teaching
jobs.
He also was impressed by the "numbers of outstanding people who
came to this campus to perform and speak." Part of the reason, he thinks,
is "We were on the rail line between Chicago and Minneapolis."

Compiling 70 years of history inevitably brought out contrasts and
comparisons. The major scandal in 1919 was a walkout by 100 students
to protest the administration's refusal to hold a celebration dance after a
basketball championship. It would have been difficult to foresee the
concerns 50 years later that included protesting the Vietnam War and
allowing alcohol on campus.

Gilkey also discovered idiosyncrasies among faculty members
through the years. Myrtle Trowbridge, whom he was hired to replace in
1954, was so intolerant of tardiness that she would lock the door after
class started. She also required male students to wear ties.

But Gilkey says he came to respect deeply the former faculty
members he researched for his book "They were sturdy folks. They were
hard working and they demanded a lot from their students."

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time To Remember    21

Faculty Homecoming band, 1959

Howard Fredricks

He's probably more used to asking the questions than answering
them. That's because, from the mid-60s to the early 80s, Howard Fredricks
interviewed more than 125 campus and community notables for UW-L's
oral history project.

Fredricks, who had come to the history department from the
Campus School, tackled the project at the invitation of then department
chairman George Gilkey. Because of Fredricks's community involvement,
like his 16 years as news anchorman for WKBT television, he seemed the
perfect choice to tap the memories of local and regional personalities.

"I talked with 'campus fixtures' who were about ready to retire and
people holding prominent positions in the community," explains
Fredricks. "Interview subjects were selected on the basis of my knowledge
of their involvement in the community or on the suggestion of others."

Not all interviews went well. "Some people would freeze up when they
knew they were being recorded," recalls Fredricks. "They were afraid to
open up." And sometimes there would be a "clash of personalities"
between interviewer and subject. "You had to establish a rapport with
your subject and that didn't always happen," he remembers.

But Fredricks also remembers successful interviews. Dr. Gunnar
Gundersen, a medical pioneer in La Crosse, was one of them. "He was very
outspoken. He had some critical comments to make about health care
locally and on the national level. I remember that interview well," he says.

Interviews with campus people also produced "a lot of interesting
anecdotes." Fredricks remembers being told that the early faculty would
advise girls on what to wear because of the effects it might have on the
boys. "They took the concept of 'in loco parentis' very seriously," Fredricks
comments.

But nothing in these interviews really surprised Fredricks. He knew
about the early life at the school from first hand experience; a transfer
student from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Fredricks came to
La Crosse in 1935 to complete his secondary education degree. He got to
know many of the "big names" personally. William Sanders taught
psychology "with a sense of humor." Clayton Whitney had a "stern
presence" but was very warm underneath. Myrtle Trowbridge was "very
outspoken" and "would have been in the forefront of the women's
movement if she were living today."

Fredricks spent three semesters at the school before graduating in
1936 with majors in history and foreign languages. He had transferred
from "the University" because he had just married a La Crosse girl. "But I

Maurice O. Graff retired in 1972
with more than 30 years of service
to the school. The vice chancellor
emeritus established a permanent
fund for a program to recognize
outstanding alumni.

The Maurice O. Graff Distinguished
Alumni Awards honor
former UW-La Crosse students "who
have distinguished themselves
through their lives and work, thereby
bringing great credit and distinction
to their alma mater." Fifteen
people have been accorded
this distinction since its inception
in 1977:

Howard Mumford Jones
Thomas E. McDonough
John A. Thomas
Thomas Hancock
James Van Tassel
Timothy Nugent
Gayle A. Anderson
Russell G. Cleary
John Mwaura
Merle A. Evenson
Paul E. Hassett
Herbert V. Prochnow
John F. Bibby
Keith G. Briscoe
Don Herbert

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    22

Margaret Chew with geography students.

Homecoming queen, 1960s

had no complaints about the teaching skills of the faculty at La Crosse.
They exhibited a love for their subjects and a concern for the students,"
he recalls.

After graduating, Fredricks taught in Westby and then returned to La
Crosse Central High School where he had practice taught while going to
college. He liked it at Central, but in 1945 a new opportunity came along.
Emery Leamer, principal of the Campus School, invited him to join the
staff there.

"I suffered my one and only migraine headache in making that
decision," says Fredricks. But it was a decision he wouldn't regret.

Looking back, Fredricks recalls his years at the Campus School as an
"exciting period. The Campus School represented the avant garde of
education. It was in the forefront of experimentation. Kids were treated as
individuals and students and teachers were given a great deal of freedom."

The Campus School also helped him achieve his goal of teaching at
the college level. As enrollments exploded in the 60s, Fredricks was
invited to join the history department faculty, first on a part-time basis
and then full time. While he missed the personal contact with junior high
students at the Campus School, he welcomed the new relationships with
colleagues and students at the University.

Along with his quarter-time position directing the oral history
project, Fredricks served a four-year term on the Faculty Senate. He was
appointed to the Academic Freedom Committee which heard and acted on
complaints from faculty members who felt their academic freedom had
been violated. Scholastic freedom was important to Fredricks, both the
freedom to teach controversial subjects and the freedom to learn about
difficult or unpopular ideas. During the 40s, he led units on communism
and sex education in the Campus School.

Today he is still concerned that UW-La Crosse students learn as
much about living as they do about preparing for work "I hope the school
doesn't become too vocation-oriented," says Fredricks. Having recently
spent some time in Europe, he notes that "we need to expand the Basic
Studies to include a foreign language."

Fredricks retired from teaching in 1978, although he continued the
oral history project until funding ended in 1981. He holds an active
interest in the school he attended as a student, joined as a Campus
School teacher, and served as a historian.

La Crosse Regents

Thomas Morris (1905-1913)
William E. Wolfe (1913-1917)
Charles Van Auken (1917-1923)
A.W Zeratsky (1923-28, 1933-40)
Otto Schlabach (1928-1933)
Thomas A. Skemp (1940-1943)
Roy Davidson (1943-1950)
Eugene W. Murphy (1950-1971)

System merger changed the role of
the regents. They are now charged
with looking at the system as a
whole, regardless of hometown
loyalties. William Gerrard has
served under this concept since
1971.

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    23

Cartwright Center, early 60s

Terry Witzke

Terry Witzke made his career decision the summer after he
graduated from Central High School in 1957. His work with young people
through the La Crosse Recreation Department "really decided it for me,"
he says. That was when he began preparing for a teaching career by
enrolling at Wisconsin State College, La Crosse.

"The place was a lot smaller," he remembers. "I felt like a person
there. I was recognized as an individual." Witzke recalls one faculty
member in particular -- Bernie Young who taught elementary education
and was later dean of the College of Education. "Bernie was never at a loss
for words. If you asked him a question, you needed to be prepared to stay
around awhile for his answer. He loved to talk"

Attending classes in the late 1950s, Witzke discovered he had chosen
an unconventional career for a man. Most of his classmates were female.
He remembers a handful of other men interested in elementary education;
they all had plans to teach the upper elementary grades.

Although his academic experience was a positive one, a social
encounter -- pledging the Sigma Zeta Phi fraternity -- was not. "I had a tough
time pledging the fraternity," he says. "During Hell Week I almost dropped
out." Witzke endured humiliating treatment because he wanted to join
the fraternity, which was known for having the men who held the highest
grade point averages on campus. Looking back, he's glad he was accepted,
but says, "I still don't think people should treat each other like that."

Witzke graduated in 1961 but soon returned to pursue a master's
degree at the college become university. He received the degree in 1965
and began teaching at the Campus School. Once again, Bernie Young had
an effect on his life. He assigned student teacher Kathryn Schnur to
Witzke's class. The two married and are the parents of three sons.

The Campus School experience was one Witzke will never forget. "I
loved it. It was probably the best job I ever had. The atmosphere, the
excitement, the freedom to experiment, being around people who loved
what they were doing -- I thought it was a wonderful place to teach."

In 1969, Witzke began an 11-year stint as principal of Emerson
School in La Crosse. He is now in his fourth year as principal of Franklin
School. Though he misses teaching Witzke says he makes up for that loss
by teaching classes at UW-L, the university that did more than shape his
career. "I had some good models there, people who showed genuine care
and concern," he says. "I'd like to think that it rubbed off on me."

Another member of the original
faculty, Albert Sanford taught
history here for 27 years. Author of
a history text used in high schools
across the country, Sanford was
also president of the La Crosse
County Historical Society and was
honored by the State Historical
Society 'for his many services to
the state and to historical study in
Wisconsin." With Clayton Whitney,
he assumed the presidential duties
after the resignations of Cotton and
Smith.

Samuel G. Gates became the
fifth president of the school in 1966.
He, too, served during a period of
rapid growth. Murphy Library and
Mitchell Hall fieldhouse were constructed
and planning for the Fine
Arts Building and North Hall was
begun under Gates. He made many
controversial decisions during a
period of great student activism. He
left the school in 1971 to become
associate director of the State
University System.

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Remember    24

Today's students

From 1965-74, students
annually chose afaculty member to
receive an excellence in teaching
award. Sponsored by the Johnson
Foundation, the award carried a
$500 honorarium. Those who won
the recognition were:

James F. Lafky, English
John Alexander, music
Ernest Gershon, physical
education
Richard Hardy, health education
Brenda Randolph, music
W.G. Vettes, history
Donald Wille, health education,
two awards

One set of fingerprints on our
nationally-known PE programs is
that of Hans Reuter, who taught
here from 1920 to 1956. He never
asked a student to do something
that he couldn't do himself and at
age 90 he was still swinging
Indian clubs at fitness demonstrations.
Reuter taught courses ranging
from body building to folk
dancing, coached successful gymnastic
teams, designed and built
models to show proper body movements,
invented a back quiver with
attached hunting stool, and was a
prime force behind the La Crosse
Archery Club.

Anne Morgan

Being from La Crosse, Anne Morgan "needed a good reason to go to
another school with UW-L so close." So she came here in the fall of 1979
planning to transfer after two years.

"But I discovered that the program I was interested in was very good
here and I got involved in other ways, too," she says. So she stayed -- for
five years, two majors (political science and public administration), and
"somewhere around 170 credits" in everything from bowling to Soviet
Seminar. She graduated at the top of her class in May.

Living at home, Morgan missed out on residence hall activities. She
compensated.

She joined the Political Science Association and became an officer.
She joined the College Republicans and saw that group grow with the
trend of students to conservatism.

She got involved in social activities and service projects with Phi Mu
sorority. When the group entered Songfest, a student singing contest, one
woman sang a solo while the rest joined on the chorus. But the soloist
sang the wrong words and the choristers, Morgan among them, laughed so
hard they couldn't continue. The sorority once won Winter Carnival
competition by finishing first in two events, the eating and drinking
contests. "But it's not all 'Animal House;' it's travel and financial
opportunities, too," she explains. She has a scholarship for law school
from the national office.

Morgan served two years as a student senator and her last year here
as president of the Student Association. "It was one of the best learning
experiences I've had, probably better than a lot of internships," she
maintains. She quit her part-time job at a Chinese restaurant to give the
position the attention she felt it deserved. Major issues addressed during
her term included child care facilities, racial discrimination, and the
removal of a United Council president.

"I know some people will view our generation as shallow and career-oriented.
I don't think that's accurate. I think a better term is self-respect-oriented,"
Morgan says. "Today's students are still concerned about issues;
it's just that their approach is different from students of the 60s. They
prefer to work through established means," she maintains. "Students
want all the information on a subject before taking a stand; they don't see
everything in black and white any longer."

She sees her time at UW-L as a maturing process and hopes she gave
back "a commitment to its excellence in a positive way."

What does Anne Morgan miss about UW-L? It's the camaraderie of
finals week in the union. "It was almost like a ritual; I miss that feeling,"
she says.

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


Celebrate 75

A Time to Reaffirm

We celebrated our anniversary
with an outdoor pageant. A
quartet of UW-L Symphony
students, foreground, provided
music. Front row platform
guests at the recreation of
Normal School opening ceremonies
were, from left: soloist
Wilma Scheffner; Peter Schreier
as Thomas Morris; Jack Starr as
Fassett Cotton; Emerson Wulling
as Charles Van Hise from UW-Madison;
Mayor Patrick Zielke
as Wisconsin Congressman J. J.
Esch. Others portrayed early
religious leaders and students.

Our 75th anniversary is a time
to reaffirm our commitment to
teach and serve the citizens of
western Wisconsin, the state and
beyond. It is a time to look ahead.
This section anticipates the
next 75 years. Beginning with
reflections by Chancellor Noel
Richards, we speculate about the
campus physical plant and
education in 2059. Teachers and
staff respond to a survey about

Basic Studies, teaching, and the
University 75 years hence.

Our students are our future.
Freshman women who most
closely resemble the statistically
average UW-L student look to
their own futures and that of the
world.


A Time to Remember    26

Noel J. Richards

Noel J. Richards became the
seventh head of the school in September
1979, taking over from W.
Carl Wimberly who had served as
acting chancellor since January of
that year. Prior to coming to
La Crosse, Richards was vice
chancellor and director of academic
affairs for the West Virginia system
of higher education. He holds a
doctorate in British history from the
University of Wisconsin - Madison.

I am constantly in touch with
people who have the potential to
solve the problems of tomorrow.
Young people give me hope.
- Fred Kusch,
Teacher Education

Do predictions ever come true?
Assistant Chancellor David Witmer,
who has been tracking such things
for the past 10 years, reports 18 to
20 percent of the predictions he
found between 1976 and 1982
turned out to be correct. That
percentage has gone up in the last
few years; he found 37 percent
accuracy in predictions for 1984.

Witmer studies only published
predictions which state a target
year and whose outcomes can be
easily seen by ordinary people. The
forecasts can be about any subject.

Would someone please check
ours in 2059?

This commemorative booklet symbolizes the emphasis we have
placed on our 75th anniversary. In addition to the many specific festive
occasions during the year, we have used this opportunity to look at our
roots and at our future. In this process we have focused on those aspects
of our mission which have been most important to us as an institution in
our growth and development since 1909. The culmination of this process
is to now reaffirm our commitment to teach and serve the citizens of this
state.

We are a much different institution in 1984 than the Normal School
created in La Crosse in 1909. The transition to a multipurpose regional
university of over 9,100 students included the rapid growth of programs
such as business, computer science and physical therapy. We also
continue to value our roots in physical education and teacher education.
New and renewed accreditation by national bodies document most clearly
the quality of our academic programs, all of which are built on a solid
base of general education. Although teaching remains our most
significant mission, service and research have become increasingly
significant functions of this multipurpose university.

There will continue to be changes in the nature of this institution as
we look at the future. A Strategic Planning Committee and a Futures
Symposium are focusing on planning for the future in the context of
societal changes. The nature of our student body continues to change to
include more non-traditional students. These students are usually older,
part-time people returning to complete a degree or prepare for a second
degree. Often their needs focus on services such as child care. The
challenge for student government is to sort out these new priorities while
maintaining the historic excellence in areas such as our athletic program
and music and theatre activities.

Futurists indicate that universities are becoming more like learning
centers, with an increased utilization of computers and other technological
advances as part of the learning process. One theme which will
remain constant at UW-L, however, is the reliance on the human factor, as
reflected by skilled and dedicated faculty and staff. We are fortunate to
have had many giants in our past to act as role models for outstanding
teaching.

UW-L is blessed by the support we receive from loyal alumni and
emeriti faculty. We need to continue to broaden our support through our
foundation boards, Alumni Association and Parents Weekend to include
these valuable people in our vision of the future.

It has been an outstanding year. We have enjoyed the nostalgia of
looking back the pride of acknowledging what we have become, and the
challenge of looking to the future. We reaffirm our basic missions in the
hope that 75 years from now the University can record as much progress
as reflected in the first 75 years.

Noel J. Richards,
Chancellor

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Reaffirm    27

Bluff attracts students

Campus of the future

Main Hall, with its 18-inch thick masonry walls, will probably be here
75 years from now.

Visitors to the campus in 2059 (Yes, there will be a campus, not just a
giant computer!) will recognize many of the buildings we use today. A
number of newer structures will also be part of the efficient, park-like
campus.

Students of all ages and abilities will make use of the ample outdoor
and indoor space for physical education, athletics, and fitness training.

Sensors will turn on the lights when people enter a classroom and
turn them off again when the room empties.

Those who drive to classes will park on the perimeter of the closed
campus. Most will walk, bike, cycle or take public transportation. Everyone
will use pedestrian walkways through the open green areas and be aware
of the beautiful, peaceful setting as they move about.

Business Administrator Larry Lebiecki and Director of Facilities
Management Mike Daniel used the UW-L 10 Year Plan as a starting point
for these predictions. Both emphasized that facilities and services are
based on our academic programs.

Like our academics, our facilities will preserve the best of the past
while constantly adapting to changing needs.

Future adaptability is an important part of all planning today. Any
building considered for the future must have the potential to be used for
different functions as change dictates.

Contrast this planning with that of Wilder Hall, Wing Communication
Center, and other buildings converted from their original purposes.
These buildings need major remodeling to be put to efficient use.

The earliest construction, scheduled in Mitchell Hall, will bring a
diving well and our first solar heating to campus. Other additions on the
horizon include a Learning Resource Center for Murphy Library, an
intramural and activities building for students, and a Health and Human
Services Building, all within our present boundaries.

There will also be more computers and automation, satellite
receiving facilities for instruction, alternative energy sources, and state-of-the-art
features not yet imagined.

Other elements, sturdy as Main Hall, will remain constant.

The distinct personality of this campus will dictate that we retain as
much green area as possible. Our continuing mission in physical
education will require open areas and playing fields. The extended
arboretum concept of adding plants and flowers to the campus green will
allow students to use the landscaping as a field station.

Our commitment to community living, combined with the great
natural beauty of the area, will continue to make UW-La Crosse a good
place to live, to learn and to work for years to come.

Can you imagine playing a sport
or game outside a space station
with no G force?
- Maurita Robarge,
Physical Education

As has been the case in the past,
and expressed so eloquently by
Eric Temple Bell in "Men of
Mathematics," mathematics will
remain the queen of the sciences
and the servant of all.
-Arnold Temte, Math

If textbooks couldn't replace
teachers, how will a computer?
- C. Richard Kistner, Chemistry

We are seeing a whole knowledge
explosion. We have to change
the ways we deal with students.
Teachers will have to be life-long
learners.
- Julia Steinke Saterbak,
Teacher Education

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Reaffirm    28

Class goes outdoors

By 2059 there will be no English
Department on campus as we know
it today ... it will be merged into a
composite with great emphasis on
writing, technological writing, comparative
language and literature,
English as a second language, and
general communication.
- Robert O. LeRoy,
Registrar

Computer operations will allow
much remote control of routine
programmable maintenance...
equipment controls will be largely
run from a computer and they will
be very accurate.
- plant engineer

We are teaching speech the same
way Aristotle did over 2,000 years
ago. Why shouldn't we be doing the
same in 2059?
- anonymous speech teacher

The Basics

The Basic Studies will still be basic 75 years from now.

That's the consensus of those who completed our survey about the
future of UW-La Crosse. Published in the UW-L Newsletter in late October,
the survey invited all employees to speculate on Basic Studies and other
facets of the University in 2059.

Of those who responded, faculty outnumbered academic staff four to
one. A third of the academic staff who answered teach; the others head
service units. No classified staff chose to participate in the survey.

Respondents agreed. The same knowledge and skills important today
will be important in the future. "Reading, writing, and the ability to make
sense out of information" is how Susannah Lloyd, sociology/anthropology,
described them. "People who lack these skills will be used by the new
electronic technology rather than being users of it," she warned.

"Speaking and writing will still be important," wrote an anonymous
speech teacher. " ... the basic idea of man giving voice to his ideas will
remain the same."

"Students will still need to write cogently, argue persuasively, think
deductively, analyze inductively, and synthesize creatively," according to
sociologist Jac D. Bulk Basic Studies will be broadened to include a
human relations course, he predicted.

Most others thought so too. A department chair listed "understanding
human behavior" as the first skill of 2059. Charles Young, social work,
wrote about the need to "deal with diverse groups and cultures." Norm
Schein, science education, ranked "diplomacy" or "skillful communication
attributes" with math, sciences and technology, and foreign languages in
importance.

Though two-thirds thought computer literacy would be a basic, most
took care to point out that the machines are only tools. Video Services
Director Jim Jorstad described the steps in producing a video program
and noted, "No amount of sophisticated equipment will insure this
process occurs." Human communication is the key element.

A plant engineer also stressed humanity. "It will be very important
for us not to lose the sense of value we have of each human being, no
matter where they fit in the hierarchy" he wrote.

Several emphasized the importance of foreign languages,
international studies, travel/study programs and multi-disciplinary
offerings.

"Knowledges and skills necessary to travel, live, research and
communicate in space will prevail," predicted Maurita Robarge, physical
education.

Physical education, one of our earliest programs, will become even
more important as computer terminals and robots make people more
sedentary and give them more leisure time. A fifth of the writers, not all
from HPER, stressed the need for physical activity and wellness.

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Reaffirm    29

1983 Commencement

Tomorrow's teachers

"Technology will not replace the humanness of education. The
transmission of culture comes from being with and relating to others,"
said Fred Kusch, teacher education.

Most teachers who completed our survey on the future of the
University felt the same way. They thought teachers and traditional books,
blackboard and chalk lectures and films will be here 75 years from now.
Some saw teaching enhanced by new technology; some had wish lists for
new teaching aids.

"Teaching will still employ people-to-people contact until a certain
point in the education of young people," wrote Maurita Robarge, physical
education. She predicted "less specialization, teaching of the whole person
- skills, knowledges, values, communication" with new technology.

Teachers work with the human mind, they pointed out. "The mind
won't change and that is what we are training," reasoned Arnold Temte,
math. "I don't think it has evolved significantly during the past 2000
years."

"The computer can only manage the data supplied. Only the human
mind can bridge the gaps in our supply of data and create new concepts,"
he added.

Susannah Lloyd suspects future teachers will be "less tied to giving
students basic information. They will get the elementary information
themselves through machines. Teachers will be learning managers,
integrators, designers and inspirers - and will have to do even more
thinking than now," she wrote.

Others who thought technology would help teachers looked to
computers to replace present lab equipment and traditional textbooks
and TV/phone systems to take the place of some face-to-face contacts. One
thought students would soon take exams at computer terminals to bypass
waiting for instructors' grading.

"The audio is only part of communication," argued Mary Gayle Pifer,
chair of foreign languages, for the use of television as a language text. Live
TV from Europe will soon be available via satellite; UW-L should be one of
the first in the country to have it on campus for language students.

Les Crocker, art, said three-dimensional reproductions based on
holography will replace the flat slides now used to show styles of
architecture to students. He is hoping for "a decent matter transmitter so
I can take a class to Rome for a lecture one day and to Paris the next day."

How's that for a new view of "the transmission of culture"?

It's going to take longer to prepare
teachers in the future. There is
a movement toward a five-year
program.
- Julia Steinke Saterbak,
Teacher Education

Chalk is going to be a very difficult
tool to make obsolete.
- Thomas Claflin, Biology

I predict that early childhood
will be part of the school system
and that the elementary program
will be similar to our present high
school curriculum. Our high school
curriculum will resemble the first
four years of university-level work.
University work will be advanced
by at least four years.
- Norm Schein,
Science Education

The University will be a storage
center for information ... There
will be less distinction between
universities and public libraries;
their functions are already merging.
- Les Crocker, Art

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Reaffirm    30

Volleyball champs, 1984

UW-L will grow, will expand off-campus
offerings. It will have to
enmesh more with the community
to provide people with information
and training.
-Charles W. Young,
Social Work

We will continue to draw students.
We are going to thrive. It's
called the "La Crosse Factor," a set
of both tangible and intangible elements
that make La Crosse
and UW-La Crosse a nice place to
be; its ruralness, the physical
setting, the size of the University,
the size of the town, even Third
Street.
- Thomas Claflin, Biology

Probably students will process in
and out without ever utilizing registration
procedures as we know
them today and much academic
advising will be done by electronic
equipment . ..
- Robert O. LeRoy,
Registrar

Typical freshmen look ahead

She's from La Crosse; she went to Central High School; she's a
freshman; she's white; she's majoring in a health-related field; she
probably lives in a residence hall; and she chose UW-L because of its
location and programs of study.

She's the typical University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student.

Of some 9000 students, at least four are a perfect match with the
description of "average UW-L student" in the American College Testing
Class Profile Service Report prepared for UW-La Crosse. Many of our
students fall into some of the categories of common characteristics, but
these four students matched every one: sex, most common hometown,
high school background, ethnic origin, major, residence and reason for
choosing La Crosse.

These women are our faces of the future, and they have a vision of
the life ahead for their generation.

Christal Johansen, a 1984 graduate of Central High School, lives in
Wentz Hall on campus and is majoring in pre-physical therapy. Her major
brought her to UW-L because of its highly-respected reputation in P.T.

Christal feels that her chances of finding a job in physical therapy
are pretty good, especially since she's looking at sports medicine as a
specialty. She estimates she'll be making an annual salary of $19,000.

Christal's main worry for the future is an accidental nuclear war that
will wipe out all of her "goals, opportunities, experiences and enjoyment
from life." She is also concerned about world hunger - "In my lifetime, it
will definitely be a problem that can't be ignored. The government will
have to start giving this area more consideration," she says.

Christal imagines she will be using computers a greal deal on the
job, but she "personally will never own one - I just don't like them!" she
says.

She thinks physical education will be back as UW-L's most popular
major 75 years from now.

Angela Guentner, Christal's high school classmate, also hopes to
have a career in the medical field, either as a sports medicine specialist or
a physician's assistant. She expects to start at a salary of $20,000 upon
graduation. Angela worries about her future "financial security - just like
everyone else." She says she'll own a personal computer in her lifetime,

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


A Time to Reaffirm    31

Faces of the future

and also thinks robots or "whatever" will take over some responsibilities
in everyday life.

Debbie Wackerbarth lives in Reuter Hall on campus, has a 3.6 grade
point average and wants to be a physical therapist some day. In fact, her
main concern about the future is whether or not she will be accepted into
the P.T. program here.

She thinks nuclear warfare, pollution and the world population will
continue to be major problems in her lifetime. But she isn't especially
concerned about inflation; she feels that will be under control. UW-L
students in the year 2059 will probably all be majoring in computer
science and business, she predicts.

Another "typical student," who preferred to remain anonymous, says
she prepared for college all of her life, and that it's the key to a successful
career. With plans to become a doctor of veterinary medicine, the young
woman from La Crosse imagines she will earn more than $40,000 her first
year on the job. "I want to be able to live a comfortable life and not have
to worry about what will happen to me when I retire," she says.

The aspiring vet predicts that in 75 years, "If there hasn't already
been a nuclear war, we'll be working much, much harder than today to
keep it that way." She also predicts that there will be an "epidemic of
starvation," and that inflation will be so out of control that "money will be
practically useless."

She feels that biology and economics will be UW-L's most popular
majors in 75 years - "to help the land and control the money."

Interestingly enough, all four students are studying at least one
foreign language. As one student put it, "If there are predictions that over
one-half of the U.S. population will be Hispanic someday, I intend to be
prepared."

I hope Basic Studies will be as
comprehensive (in 2059) as now.
Educated people ... will understand
the development of human
thought and philosophy in a cross-cultural
framework They will know
how electricity operates; how the
Vietnam conflict relates to the
development of our involvement in
Nicaragua and El Salvador; how to
write a grammatically correct
paragraph; and who Shakespeare
was. An educated person will know
how the American government is
organized, will recognize major
works of music, and will get their
nouns and verbs in agreement...
understand photosynthesis, will
know why even a limited nuclear
exchange is dangerous, and will
be able to balance their checkbook
without a calculator.
- Susannah Lloyd,
Sociology/Anthropology

Computers and television go together.
The marriage of these two
technologies will be the basis for
our communication in the next
century.
- Jim Jorstad,
Video Services

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse


32

Anniversary float, 1984

Snapshots in a family album capture moods and memories, but they
cannot document everything that happens through generations of the
family's existence.

So it is with this book This is not a comprehensive history of our 75
years or even a total picture of the University today. We have tried to
capture moods and memories from the generations. Realizing that we
could not do justice to every person who has been here, we have tried to
present a mix of faculty, staff and students whose lives have been tied to
the life of this institution.

We are indebted to the people who shared their memories and
insights; to George Gilkey, whose book, "The First Seventy Years: A History
of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 1909-1979," was a valuable
reference; and to Ed Hill and the Area Research Center in Murphy Library
for photos and research assistance.

Universities, ours included, are about growth. All who have been here
during the past 75 years have grown in some way, some perhaps more
publicly than others.

But if we are about growth, then this book is about all of us, past and
present. Here's to each of us, to our own growth, and to our part in the
growth of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Editors: Mary Fran Winrich, Kevin Bertelsen
Staff writer: Paula Symons
Graphic design: Kathy Teach, Caroline McClure
Photos: Most photos provided by the Murphy Library Area Research
Center. Photos on pages 8, 30, 32 by Bob Hammerstrom; page 13,
Charles Auenson; page 16, Kevin Bertelsen; page 25, Larry
Lebiecki; pages 26, 27, Roger Grant, and page 29, Walter
Earhart

75th Anniversary Committee: Keith Swanson, George Gilkey,
Eleanor Kennedy, Robert Mullally, Kevin Bertelsen, Chris
Koukola, Philip Kerrigan, Sunita Singh

University of Wisconsin - La Crosse