Mailbag
| Cold Food I’m not sure about the facts in your article about the “1950s” building that is being torn down to make room for the new student center (“A Gathering Place,” Summer 2008, p. 26). I attended USC from 1965 to 1969, and was without a place to eat for several years while the new eating area was constructed. What a disappointment it was immediately – cold and without any character. It replaced a cozy, dark, crowded eatery with lots of atmosphere (á la Cheers) in the basement where the current eyesore now stands. I wish the atmosphere of that place could be brought back in the new design. Linda Cranmer Lisiecki ’69 USC historian Annette Moore replies: Hold That Note Harriett Kalpakian Donnell ’56 I was surprised and pleased to see the album cover for The Songs of Troy pictured in Mailbag, along with the accompanying inquiry. I was a member of the Symphonic Band under the direction of Professor (William A.) Schaefer and played in the recording sessions for the album. It was very carefully done, with many retakes to get things just right. Often, the music was arranged by members of our own School of Music faculty. We recorded on the stage of Bovard Auditorium and it was something quite new for many of us. After graduation, many of us had a lot more experience making recordings – not all of them so pleasant. On a similar note, I was also a member of the Trojan Marching Band and participated in the Rose Bowl festivities before, during and after the Wisconsin game. Our band was smaller than the Badger Band, but with a majority of us being music majors, and with the fantastic arrangements done by Robert Lynn, we showed the nation what we could do. The adrenaline rush was tremendous. These are a couple of wonderful memories of my time at USC. Dr. George C. Adams ’66 In response to the letter from Philip Gregory (“Mailbag,” Summer 2008, p.11), there are no words to “Conquest” because it was not written for USC. It was composed by Alfred Newman for the movie Captain from Castile and is only heard at the end of this very forgettable flick. I remember playing this piece when I was in the Trojan Marching Band from 1964 to 1966, when the director was Ron Broadwell. David Turner ’68 Classes, Noted Coach Toley is arguably the all-time best coach in tennis history. He inculcated his players to compete at the highest level and with the utmost integrity and sportsmanship on and off the court. He fulfilled every single characteristic that a coach must have: to be a teacher of the game, to prepare for and coach during a match, to be a “father” or “older brother” figure you could confide in, and most importantly, to be a teacher of life itself. Coach Toley is currently a candidate to be enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and a candidate to receive the Aztec Eagle, the highest decoration awarded by the Mexican government to a foreigner as recognition for prominent services that have made a significant contribution to increasing the friendship and cooperative ties between foreign nations and Mexico. With regard to Mexico, Mr. Toley is internationally recognized as the “father of Mexican tennis” because his efforts to develop the sport in that country had a significant impact on the development of tennis in Mexico; he coached Mexico in the Davis Cup; recruited young Mexican boys for his Trojan teams and transformed them into the nation’s finest players; and held an annual summer tennis camp. But how big of an impact did he have in Mexico? Let me provide some insight: In a nation that had not succeeded in tennis, as a result of his efforts, an astonishing 70 percent of all the Grand Slam Championships won by Mexicans in the entire tennis history are his pupils. That is no small feat. One of his players, Rafael Osuna, went on to be ranked No. 1 in the ITF world singles rankings, and two of them, Osuna and Raul Ramirez, were ranked in the top 10 world singles rankings. Three of his Mexican pupils are Grand Slam winners – Osuna (singles), Osuna and Raul Ramirez (doubles) and Jorge Lozano (mixed) – as is Mexico’s only gold Olympic medalist (Osuna). Rafael Belmar Osuna ’86 I was reading the Summer 2008 issue and was very impressed with the wonderful things that are happening on the campus. I happened across an error, I think. On p. 61 (“Class Notes”) the obituary for Robert Allen Walter listed his age as 58. Since I am a member of the Penn State class of 1949, I think his age should probably be 85 rather than 58. Also, I was surprised that the state abbreviations for everyone were the old outdated form rather than the current two-letter abbreviations: Calif. in place of CA, Fla. for FL, etc. I am sorry that since I live in Reno, I am unable to participate in the many activities that involve the retired personnel. I loved being part of the Trojan Family. Sarah Stover Thanks for pointing out the transposed numbers. Alum Robert Allen Walter was indeed 85 when he died, and we apologize for the error. And, we follow Associated Press style on state abbreviations instead of using the U.S. Postal Service two-letter versions. Plastic Protest I did notice that in this most recent mailing, it was bundled with USC Health and figure that it’s the easiest, most economical way for you to bundle the two, but with all the brilliant minds at USC, couldn’t someone have given some thought to how to bundle it without thousands of pieces of plastic being used? Couldn’t it have been a magazine within a magazine? Couldn’t four pieces of tape on each of the edges have worked to secure together the two publications? USC taught me to think of things outside the box, to question the conventional ways of doing things and to believe in possibilities and potential, even if no one else is doing it, even if it seems inconceivable. I’m asking you to do the same. I’ve made a commitment to cut down on my eco-footprint, and even though I would prefer to receive an online magazine from you rather than a paper one, I’m O.K. with it because I pass along my copy to my husband and clip articles for friends and for my files, and eventually, each issue goes into my recycling bin. Those pieces of plastic wrap that the magazines come in, however, are destined for a landfill where they will sit a long, long time. I realize that I risk sounding completely ridiculous right now, but for me, this issue is worth it, so I would just appreciate it if someone gave it a few minutes of thought, because I believe that there must be viable alternatives, and it has to start somewhere. Why not lead the changes? Wendy Yeh ’95 We thank reader Yeh for taking us to task on this issue. While the polyfilm we use to bundle the two magazines is recyclable, we have asked our printer to research a more environmentally friendly method for these mailings. The Bovard Boys Lee (Leland H.) Scott ’45 USC historian Annette Moore replies: • The USC University Archives has some genealogical information about the Bovards as well as a selection of pages from the diary of Sarah Bovard (mother of Marion McKinley and George Finley Bovard) up to around 1861 or so. Contact archivist Claude Zachary at (213) 740-2587 or czachary@usc. edu for more information. • The book Southern California and Its University, by Manuel P. Servin and Iris Higbie Wilson, includes brief biographical notes about the Bovards. • The University of Southern California: 1880 to 2005 that I co-wrote with Sarah Lifton, also briefly touches upon the Bovards’ family history, although it doesn’t contain biographical information beyond what was mentioned in Southern California and Its University. • A book I wrote for USC’s 125th anniversary, USC’s First Ladies: A Trojan Family Gallery, includes limited biographical information about Marion and George Bovard. • Also, here are a few sources that might be of interest to you: J. M. Guinn’s A History of California and an Extended History of Los Angeles and Environs, Volume II (Biographical), published in 1915, includes a brief biographical sketch of George Bovard that makes note of his siblings; the Los Angeles Times ran a couple of short articles (“A Remarkable Family,” May 26, 1886; and “The Bovard Brothers – Family of Six Ministers,” May 23, 1904) that mention the Bovard siblings. Finally, you might find additional information by researching the records of the Methodist Episcopal Church (as six of the Bovard brothers eventually entered the Methodist ministry) and of Scott County, Indiana, where James Bovard (the brothers’ father) purchased a farm and raised his family. Notice Board For those of you who have had the good fortune of having been associated with this remarkable person sometime during your campus life, this would be a wonderful opportunity to send her your birthday wishes. Her address is 209 Hancock Foundation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371. Marilyn Wakumoto ’58 My teaching partner, Elizabeth Kumm ’97, and I decided to take a noble career path and become elementary educators. We currently teach kindergarten at Guin Foss Elementary School in Santa Ana. This year our school is 50 years old, and we have been teaching here for 10 years. Day after day we take our kindergartners to play on a playground that has 50-year-old swings and monkey bars. Due to fact that we have taken this noble profession, we do not have assets to fund new equipment for our little learners. Our hard-working parent-teacher organization and our school district currently do not have funds to provide new equipment, either. As we educate our kindergartners in reading and math, we are also instilling them with Trojan Pride. We teach them to put two finger spaces between words by using the Victory Sign, and we proudly display USC memorabilia throughout our classroom. Our dream would be to have a new cardinal and gold-themed playground for our kindergarten. We are searching for generous donors who would be willing to help a good cause in Orange County. We would appreciate any help in finding someone who can assist us. There is a place already picked out for a special plaque in your name! Thank you. Carolyn Zweber ’96, MS ’97 We need your assistance in preserving the heritage of our university. The USC University Archives exist to collect, preserve and make available records having permanent value in documenting the history of the university, its administrative offices and academic departments, and USC-related organizations as well as the activities of faculty, staff and students. Books, manuscripts, USC periodicals and newspapers, posters, photographic images, disc and tape recordings and other archival items are available for research under supervised conditions. Gifts of any item contributing to documentation of the history of USC will be greatly appreciated and carefully preserved. Please contact me at (213) 740-2587 or czachary@usc.edu, or visit us at www.usc.edu/arc/libraries/uscarchives. Claude Zachary
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