Johnson’s Tests Were Legendary
It was with sadness that I read of the passing of ISyE professor Cecil Johnson (January/February). I took two classes from Professor Johnson during my stay at Tech. It was late in his career, and he imparted engineering wisdom and knowledge no young professor could teach. He quietly demanded respect and cast an icy, old-school glare if somehow you interrupted his class.
Some IE majors tried to avoid his classes — you couldn’t. His tests were legendary — one or more open-ended questions that required a complete mind dump into your blue book. My hand hurt afterward from writing so much. Woe be to those who didn’t study or responded with a flippant answer — an F double minus or perhaps an F zero awaited. I’ve never seen those grades before or since.
Cecil Johnson was easily my most memorable Tech professor, and I’m sure, like me, other IE majors soon won’t forget him.
Stuart F. Humphries, IE 91
Roswell, Ga.
Bikini Girl Cover Was Mine
I enjoyed reading your article about the Yellow Jacket humor magazine in the November/December Alumni Magazine. As the art editor of the Yellow Jacket in 1953-54, I may have contributed in some small way to its demise.
Many of the covers and cartoons were mine, including the June ’54 “drop-the-hankie” bikini girl cover you showed in the article. Looking back, though, most of our cartoons and illustrations, while they may have been suggestive, were pretty innocent.
Tilmon Chamlee’s follow-up letter in the January/February issue put the two of us back in touch — after 56 years! (That was me sitting behind the juror in the photo that accompanied Tilmon’s letter.) While we had lots of memories to share, one fact remains in dispute: his claim that he got paid $35 per cover. When I told Tilmon I never got paid a dime, he suggested I contact the school and demand what was due me.
Bob Lee, Arch 54
Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Rushing the Field at 67
Perhaps it is my age, but I found the January/February issue to be the best I can remember. It was full of remembrances of campus life and Homecoming events. Most of my time since I got out in 1966 has been spent in northern California and, as a result, I have been unable to spend time on campus.
Jim Harberson
I did see Tech play in the Silicon Valley Classic and the San Francisco Bowl, but the less said about those games the better. However, in 2004 I finally got back to Atlanta for a football game and have been able to do so virtually every year since; 2009 was the best yet as I attended the Jacksonville State, Clemson and Virginia Tech games.
While the Clemson game was extremely exciting, the Virginia Tech game was the most important because of the national significance. The Jackets played with fire and focus on national TV, and Bobby Dodd Stadium rocked all night.
After the game I was one of the thousands who rushed the field. (I guarantee that I was the only 67-year-old out there.) The students were a blast. I don’t remember hearing Ramblin’ Wreck sung with more gusto. My only regret was leaving the field before the goalpost came down. I had met President Peterson that morning at the co-op breakfast and would have enjoyed being part of the crowd that delivered him the goalpost.
It was interesting reading how long it had been since Tech had beaten a top five-ranked team at home, the Virginia Tech game being the first such victory since Alabama in 1962. I am proud to say that I was at both games. Since I have spent much of my wife’s and kids’ inheritance collecting Tech memorabilia, I have the game-day programs for both. (See picture of old guy with programs.)
I trust Tech doesn’t wait another 47 years to beat another top five team. I doubt that I can rush the field in 2056.
Jim Harberson, ME 66
Petaluma, Calif.
Lesson in Forgiveness
I was truly moved by [Donnie Davis’ story in the January/February issue] as he suffered a lot during his college years at Tech and then for many more because of his bad experience with his passion, football, and his loss of standing due to the coaching staff. Right or wrong, I do not pretend to know, but the suffering was real, and it was intense and it ruled Donnie’s life for years.
Then somehow Donnie learned the art of forgiveness. And that, my friends, is the secret to life. First he forgave Georgia Tech. That was his first baby step. That allowed him to enroll and finish something he truly wanted. Then he forgave himself, I believe, for not being the star that he was supposed to be and letting that go. And then he has even forgiven the coach.
Like Donnie said, if the first thing you planned to shine in doesn’t work out, move on and find that other thing. Never carry the weight of unforgiveness in your heart. It is too heavy, and it will cloud your present and your future. Learn to let it go as quickly as you can with prayer, and it will set you free. Way to go, Donnie!
Read Davis’ story, “I Was Robbed of a True College Experience.”
Kathy Kells
Cumming, Ga.
Engineering Solutions Will Have to Wait
In response to two letters [Solution to Water Woes, January/February and Another Water Solution, March/April] I would propose that the engineering solutions to water problems in the United States could only come after the financing and political solutions are met.
I have worked on these issues from 1960 to 1983 as regional director of the Water Quality Control Administration in the Northeast and Southeast; chief of Army Corps of Engineers environmental planning in the South Atlantic Division; and as a consultant to the Army Corps of Engineers.
The problems can best be illustrated by the following examples:
1. The Southeast River Basin Study of 1960-62 in which a 50-year comprehensive water and related land use plan was developed for the river basins extending from the Savannah River to and including the Chattahoochee River and south of the Tennessee River. The plan was developed by all interested federal and state agencies. At the end of the 50 years, in 2010, some of the engineering solutions have not been done because of political problems, even though the financial problems could have been solved.
2. A second problem has occurred in the Chattahoochee River basin, where the distribution for use of the water is contested by the three states affected. This type of problem will be even greater when inter-basin transfers are involved.
Until actions are taken to solve the financial and political problems, the engineering solutions will have to wait.
Herbert H. Rogers, CE 48
Douglasville, Ga.
First Kiss Revisited
There was an article in the September/October 2009 Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine about my grandfather, Professor Folk. I wrote a letter that was printed in the next issue. [In the March/April issue, there was] a letter, My First Kiss, from Ed Rainey, whose father, Glenn Rainey, was an English professor at Tech during the same time as my grandfather.
The “Allison” about whom he wrote was my mother. Actually, her name was Ellison. I have a group photo taken outside in what appears to be the entrance to the alley between Harris and Brown dorms. It’s from my mother’s birthday in August 1942. My mother is the girl in the middle of the row of kids who are standing. My uncle, Hugh Folk [IM 55, MS IM 57], is the older boy standing at the top left.
Mom died almost three years ago after a two-year bout with esophageal cancer. She was a great mother, and it was really a nice surprise to read a story about her out of the blue that none of us (my dad, two sisters and me) had ever heard before.
Ted Baskin, CS 96
Marietta, Ga.
The Kisser’s Response
I am the second from the left in the front row of the photograph. The concrete ramp on which we were posed led to my family’s backyard and back door of the faculty apartment in the dorm, at the corner of Techwood Drive and North Avenue.
Although we didn’t move in until 1946, I knew Ellison from about 1940 through my parents’ friendship with Ed and Ruby Folk, and I frequently visited Ellison at her place, as was the case when this picture was taken and when “the kiss” took place.
I was so very sorry to hear of Ellison’s passing. She was a very special person to me in my early life. Because my December birthday fell in the middle of the school year, I fell behind Ellison in grade levels and we lost touch during our high school years. But I have often thought of her and our special friendship in our relative social isolation of growing up on campus.
Ed Rainey, CerE 60
Hilton Head, S.C.
Flying the Legends
On March 9, I flew a U.S. Navy DC-9 aircraft into Doha, Qatar, to pick up passengers to take to Muscat, Oman. It wasn’t until I arrived in Doha and the passengers started to board the aircraft that I realized it was going to be a very special mission. I was flying the “Legends of Aerospace” — astronauts Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon; Gene Cernan, the last man on the moon; and Jim Lovell, the Apollo 13 commander, with panel host David Hartman, the former Good Morning America host. I flew them to Muscat, where carrier airborne aircraft, C-2s, were waiting to take them out to USS Eisenhower.
The next day proved to be even better when I returned to Muscat to pick up the legends and fly them to Bahrain. This flight was much longer, allowing each of the astronauts time to sit in the cockpit and share their experiences. In 20 years of flying for the Navy, this proved to be the biggest honor this lieutenant commander has experienced.
I’m stationed in Fort Worth, Texas, and was on a five-week deployment in Bahrain. I’m set to retire from the Navy at the end of June.
Herbert Hasell, ME 90
Fort Worth, Texas
Mistresses of Patience
“Mistress of patience in husband engineering” degrees were awarded to the wives of WWII veterans receiving their degrees. Lila, my dear late wife of over 62 years, really earned her degree by earning a living, handling the household, caring for the social obligations and raising our son to kindergarten graduation while pushing me through Tech.
Many others probably did likewise and many are, like the veterans, leaving the scene.
Carroll C. Underwood, EE 56
Camilla, Ga.
Creationism Left Out of Article
I read [the January/February] article Science Road Show, and I am disappointed by the bias shown in the article. While I believe it is hard not to reveal one’s views and opinions in their writing, it appeared to me Harry Kroto’s visit to Georgia Tech was used as a platform for Darwinism.
While Mr. Kroto is one authority on this topic, I believe the article attempted to squelch other views of how our universe and man was created. There are respected scientists throughout the world that strongly endorse a Christian approach to creation. While it is difficult to answer this question in a one-page article, I think it is important not to discount others who hold this opinion as backward and nonsensical.
I feel a better approach would be a dialogue that fosters revealing the “truths” of both viewpoints. My opinion is our Alumni Magazine is a place where we foster our passion for the Institute and address the problems our society faces by using science, technology and logic, not just opinions.
Stephen Watts, IE 01
Marietta, Ga.
Humbling Occasion
May I please add my comments to Foster Watkin’s letter [January/February]? The events for our 50th reunion Oct. 16-17 were well planned and executed by Jessica Battista and Jennifer Eames; our fearless fundraiser, John Howard; and our outstanding supporter, Pam Trube, who frequently reminded the committee members to encourage attendance and giving.
Dr. Peterson is a real mover and will be an outstanding president and advocate for Georgia Tech. Just read his vision for our school! Our reputation as one of the best institutions of higher learning in the world surely will only get better.
I still wonder where 50 years has gone since my father put me on a train in Monroe, La., gave me $5 for a cab and told me to get off in Atlanta and that the driver would help with my trunk. (Fat chance.)
My Homecoming was a memorable and humbling occasion. How did I ever get this wonderful education, enjoy the many activities and meet so many great people from all corners of the country?
I hope to join Foster, the ’09 committee members and many others in 2019.
Armand E. Breard, ME 59, MS IM 62
Monroe, La.
Fencing Legacy
It was great to see the article in the November/December magazine on fencing [Good Swordsmanship] as well as the alumni responses full of memories of fencing at Tech in times before. As one of the students who founded the current version of the fencing club, I was dismayed to see that there was no fencing presence on campus when I got there in 2003. I’m so glad that the club is thriving and continuing to grow.
If I might be so bold, seeing this article made me feel like I left a legacy on campus, one that hopefully many more generations of Tech students will be able to experience. I’d also like to thank the current club leaders for keeping everything going so well.
Haining “Helen” Yu, BME 07
New York
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