Information on Jonnie Rowan

Jonnie Rowan was one of the first students at West Texas State Teachers College to earn the Master of Arts in 1933. I'm relying on her thesis "A History of the West Texas State Teachers College" for a lot of information on the early days of WT.

I would like to know more about Ms. Rowan. I know she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Christian University. What caused her to earn an MA at WT? Was she a teacher in an area school? Where?

I'm at jrausch@mail.wtamu.edu.

Thanks.

Dr. Owens on the Old Library

I graduated with my undergraduate degree (BBA) from West Texas State College and my graduate degree (MBA) from West Texas State University a year later. Some of your readers may not remember when the library was in the building now attached to the Panhandle Plains Museum. It was relatively small and, as a graduate student, I had full access to the “stacks” in the library where all of the books were shelved. At that time, you filled out a card and gave it to the librarian who would then get you the book so being able to access the stacks meant you were a superior student. My thesis adviser, Bob Chester, challenged me to read and annotate every book in the library relevant to the study of Business Finance which I managed to accomplish during the 15 months of my MBA work. You cannot imagine how much that experience came to benefit me when I went on to Doctoral work since very few of my fellow students were nearly so widely read because their larger institutions did not permit graduate students to simply prowl the shelves and sit in the aisles reading. I seem to recall a circular metal staircase that took you to the multiple floors and you frequently would sit on one of the steps since the light from the windows was much better than the small overhead bulbs.

I also recall that Prof. John Kahler (photo, right) was newly arrived on campus at that time and was quite the talk. He would wander across campus in this huge great wool topcoat wearing a Russian fur hat that had a miners lamp attached so he could read at night. I never personally witnessed the event, but all the students took it as gospel that he would be engrossed in his reading and periodically walk straight into a tree in the dark at which time the lamp would jiggle about and he would go wandering off in another direction.

The computer center was in the basement of what is now Old Main and the business school was on the second floor. Dr. Callarman was the Dean of the Business School and had a background in office practice which meant that all of us took classes in shorthand and in operating manual calculators. There was an entire room full of the old Monroe calculators and the din was amazing when everyone was working on the machines in class.

I also recall that at the start of the Fall Semester in 1964, one of the students of the cowboy persuasion had the opportunity to apprehend and dispatch a very large rattlesnake from the lawn in front of Old Main. He made a real impression on the female students by displaying the remains in the bed of his pickup for a couple of days.

Dr. James Owens is Professor of Finance and Head of the Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance at West Texas A&M University.

Suzanne Rogers Remembers WT

In 1950, I entered the fourth grade at what was then called West Texas Elementary - the demonstration school at then West Texas State College. In UIL activities it was called WTE even though the junior high was in the same now moth-balled Education Building. First through fourth grades on first floor, choir, gym and fifth and sixth grades on second floor, and seventh and eighth grade on second floor.

It was a magnificent building - surely there are blueprints and photos of it with its three floors and basement where the cafeteria was where the WT football and basketball teams ate. There was a stage, library and a gymnasium. The floors on the hallway and stairs looked like marble.

After I graduated from Canyon High School, I entered the education and music classes at WTSC. That fall as a member of the choir we sang the Alma Mater as Lyndon Johnson (Senator then) was introduced as the next President of the U.S. (didn't happen at that election), but WT became WTSU then.

I took most of my elementary teaching courses in that building as did so many of the educators are and were Texas Panhandle teachers and administrators. Rex Reeves was one of the principals there before he was at the "new" elementary school later. Dr. Ruth Lowes helped all to learn to be the best teachers.

In the early 50s, R.O.T.C. would march chanting down the street on the north side of the Education Building. (Korean War era).

When I was in primary school, we would swim in a wonderful pool at the Buffalo Courts, and I took a swimming course (WTSU course) there as one of my physical education courses.

I was in the first group of students in 1959 who took music education courses, choir, and piano/organ lessons in the (new at that time) first Fine Arts Building which is scheduled to come down I believe when the new Fine Arts facility is completed.

Suzanne Lemons Rogers (B.S. in '67) is a resident of Amarillo.