Winter 2019 letters
Old house was filled with memories
I fondly read the article about the House of Black Culture (“A house reborn”) and what it meant to so many students. I was fortunate to have been raised just a few homes away. There is an even more engaging history about that location because quite a number of venerable OWU professors and their families also lived along that street. Such familiar neighbors’ names as Prof. Lewis Westgate (geology), Prof. Benjamin McElroy (religion), Prof. Harvey Hewitt (music), Prof. J. Allen Hynek (astronomy and physics), Prof. Ralph Sinnett (chemistry), Prof. Sidney Rowland (mathematics), as well as my father, Prof. Paul Hahn (German).
My best childhood friends were Patricia Kelley Shishler ’55 and Stephen Kelley ’54. Their parents were OWU graduates Beverly and Ruth Kelley, who owned the home at 65 Oak Hill beginning in the 1930s. I can remember playing on the upstairs third-floor fully refurbished playroom, in winter sipping hot chocolate in front of the fireplace (with the same salvaged mantel), and munching ice cubes in the summer on the large front porch along with all the other neighborhood children.
I am quite pleased that the wonderful location at the “Top of Oak Hill” can again provide an environment of comfort for future students in which to study, reflect and recharge in today’s modern world. Hopefully the new home can produce many more profound memories.
Jack Hahn ’55
Lt.Col. USAF (Ret.)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Search for Silver Star should start with Congress
About six weeks after I returned home from Vietnam, I received orders and a certificate signed by Gen. Creighton Abrams awarding a Soldiers Medal for an incident that occurred well before I left. No medal was enclosed. Many years later, through my congressman, Rep. Dennis Moore, I was guided to the facility in Pennsylvania that issues medals. The medal comes with your name stamped on the obverse.
My belief is the Collord family (“Alumnus sleuth solves 100-year-old military mystery”) never asked for the medal (a Silver Star the family could not locate). They could certainly ask for one now through their congressman.
Ed Dexter ’69
Leawood, Kansas
Remembering favorite professors
If not for Dr. Carl Pinkele and Dr. Michael Good (politics and government), I would have never graduated from OWU. Both were the kind of professors who cared about their students and engaged each of their students on a daily basis. There are those people along the way that make a difference in your life. Dr. Good was not only my professor, but ultimately a lifelong cherished friend. When Dr. Pinkele approached me in later years to sponsor a speaking series, I felt a deep sense of spirit to give back to a man who had given so much to me. I am deeply saddened to find out he is gone. He definitely changed my life for the better. Thank you, Dr. Pinkele, for the professor you were!
James Barger ’78
San Marino, California
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