As I read the winter issue, my eyes fell upon a photo on page 40 that is both fascinating and memorable. It was there on the Marquis bench that I presented my future wife, Ann Sills ('55), our engagement ring on a fall evening under a full moon in 1954. Ann still wears the ring with some enhancements to this very day, Dec. 26, 2015, our 60th anniversary. This issue is a keeper.
Clifford L. Helbert
('56, '66 M.Ed.)
Fort Worth
Editor's note: Our call for UNT memories brought many mentions of favorite professors. Here are a few from our mailbox:
Best decision
Three generations of Linns have walked the campus of UNT and in a couple of years the fourth generation should be ready to carry on the tradition. My time at North Texas in the 1960s was the catalyst for a 40-plus-year career in state government.
I have watched the campus and university grow in a very positive direction over the years and have always been proud to call UNT my home. It was a fun school and we got a great education from day one. We had some of the top names in higher education, such as Horace Brock, Tom Rose, Jack Robason, George Christy, David Fitch, James Riddlesperger, Lewis Abernathy and Paden Neeley. We worked hard to gain a solid education and we played hard every chance we got.
Attending UNT was one of the best decisions of my life and I know the same is true for countless thousands who have followed that first group of students who met 125 years ago.
Dan M. Linn ('71)
Dallas
Quoting Dr. Stevens
I came to Denton as an English graduate student in the fall of 1989, planning to specialize in 20th century British literature. That changed when I took Dr. L. Robert "Bob" Stevens' seminar entitled "Victorian Science and Religion." The "religion" part was a bigger draw than the "Victorian" angle, but I became a convert early in the semester (perhaps during the very first class meeting).
I went on to take many more classes from Dr. Stevens and greatly enjoyed them all. When it came time to do the dissertation, he helped me decide to write about the sermon, which has been my research specialty ever since. I currently direct, in fact, the Center for Sermon Studies at Marshall University, where I am an assistant professor of English.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I find myself often quoting Dr. Stevens' words to my own students. The ones I use the most are, "If college doesn't change your mind about at least one thing, you probably ought to ask for your money back."
I close with a line from Robert Browning that Dr. Stevens wrote in the book he gave me as a graduation gift. It comes from the poem "Fra Lippo Lippi," and it reads "God uses us to help each other so,/Lending our minds out."
For that thought, and for everything you did to set me on the path to where I am today, I say, "Thank you, Dr. Stevens!"
Robert H. Ellison
('91 M.A., '95 Ph.D.),
Huntington, W.Va.
Scholar in every way
Dean O.J. Curry taught our Business Problems and Trends M.B.A. class in the summer of 1963. I will always remember his wisdom.
Dean Curry arrived in Denton to head up the business department in 1944. An accountant by academic training, he led the business department to school and then college status, with The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation.
He was a scholar in every regard -- an esteemed teacher, a respected author, and a proud and capable leader. Faculty and students referred to him as Dean. Never once did I hear anyone call him by his first name. He will always stand as a lighthouse to ethical and honorable pathways for North Texas alumni.
('62, '64 M.B.A.)
Argyle
John D. Pettit Jr.
