Letters - Winter 2012
Rocket Man Thank you, Jim Scott (EPOBio’73), for your nice article [“Rocket Man,” pages 6-11, September 2012 Coloradan] on my dad, Scott Carpenter (Aero’49, HonDocSci’00). I am a guitar teacher living in Big Elk Meadows just south of Estes Park, Colo., and always check the local papers online. Wasn’t that a nice surprise to see your story in the magazine!
Candy Carpenter
Estes Park, Colo.
Both my wife and I enjoyed the September Coloradan very much.
I’m writing regarding the “Rocket Man” article and the fact that Jack Swigert (MechEngr’53) was not mentioned. Surely his famous ride in Apollo 13 deserved a mention. It’s possible you were concentrating on the Mercury astronauts, which would explain his apparent absence.
Regardless, we enjoyed reading about our alma mater.
Dick Mott&Բ;(Ѱٲ’54)
St. Charles, Ill.
[Editor’s Note: We focused on the Mercury 7 to mark the 50th anniversary of Scott’s orbit of Earth. Jack and our 17 other astronauts are featured prominently in the Heritage Center museum on campus.]
Revolutionary Nurse
In regard to the feature “Revolutionary Nurse” [pages 28-31, September Coloradan], I was an early nurse practitioner in the Ford-Silver [nurse practitioner] project in 1965 and later became faculty in the CU School of Nursing and instructor in pediatrics in the School of Medicine. After a career at the university, I am retired.
Kenna Bruner’s article captured the spirit and time of the ’60s succinctly. Loretta “Lee” Ford (Nurs’49, MS’51, EdD’61, HonDocSci ’97) and pediatrician Henry Silver were addressing medical health manpower shortages in rural Colorado and underserved urban areas. The first pilot demonstrations occurred in Trinidad, Colo., and north Denver in the Stapleton housing project. National attention on those sites caused the concept of nurses delivering primary care to spread like wildfire throughout the United States. Today collegial medical and nursing primary care is standard practice in both private and public health offices.
The promise of universal health care coverage raises the specter of huge new patient populations arriving for primary health care and not enough doctors to meet the challenge — the same problem as in 1965. The difference today is that a network of accredited nursing graduate programs, professional nursing organizations ensuring standards of practice and nursing practice legislation is in place.
Dr. Ford has stood at the forefront of these developments, and we can see a national health care plan that has the potential to work because the expanded capacity provided by the nation’s nurse practitioners.
Ann N. Smith (Nurs’64, MS’65, PhD’88)
Boulder
Great 1960s Bands
Good article on the Astronauts, Flash and Sugarloaf bands [“Flash Cadillac, Sugarloaf and The Astronauts,” pages 36-39 in the June 2012 Coloradan].
Some facts left out that you might enjoy.
Rich Fifield was the “heartthrob” lead singer [of The Astronauts]. Fabulous guitar player, leader and singer. Jon Storm (Stormy) Patterson (A&S ex’67) was high school wrestling champ, an all-state football player, excellent bass player and the band’s “stud” singer. Dennis Lindsey (Rec’74) played rhythm guitar and was a singer! They were the band at the time.
Sugarloaf had been called The Moonrakers and Chocolate Hair. The Astronauts “made” Tulagis on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday afternoons!
Jack Price&Բ;(ʷ’66)
Vancouver, Wash.
If These Old Trees Could Speak
I am writing you out of the blue because I want to tell you how much I was moved by your piece in the September Coloradan, “If These Old Trees Could Speak” [pages 40-41].
Your poetic essay brought back a lot of memories, and at the same time it opened up to me aspects of CU history that had never even crossed my mind.
You put into words what I try to tell my students on a regular basis: there truly is “no greater place to be” than on a college campus, surrounded by natural beauty and immersed in the adventure of higher education.
Stephen Clark (ʳٳ貹’96)
California State University, Channel Islands
Camarillo, Calif.
I’m much too slow to tell you how very much I enjoyed and appreciated your really delightful story about Old Main’s cottonwood trees. I loved it!
Jo Arnold (Engl’52, MJour’65, PhDComm&Thtr’71)
CU-Boulder emeritus professor, dean and associate vice chancellor
Boulder
How wonderful to read about these very special ancient cottonwoods [page 40, Sept. 2012 Coloradan]! However, I must correct your statement that “it takes 16-20 visiting fourth-graders to circle her wrinkled trunk.” Cottonwood trees are either male or female. Gender is easily identified each spring when female cottonwoods generate huge numbers of seeds encased in fluffy white “cotton.” The cottonwood “towering protectively over Old Main’s south entrance” is male, and I have always affectionately referred to it as Big Daddy.
My authority in such matters stems from my extensive study of cottonwoods and aspens for my doctoral dissertation project. In fact, I began my dissertation presentation with a photograph of Big Daddy. Thank you for drawing attention to these very special trees.
Mary Ellen Myers Ford (Acct’75, MBA’84, PhDEPOBio’04)
Boulder
More on Ralphie’s Name
As a student at CU in the mid-1960s, I was there when Ralphie was named. At that time the 3.2 beer-induced overindulgence was popularly called “raalphing,” a derivative of barfing. The students chose this name under the nose of the scholastic fiduciaries who had no idea where the name came from.
Don Toan (Acct’68, MBA’71)
Lyle, Wash.
While C. Mark Brown’s (A&S’61) letter [page 63 in the September 2012 issue] about the origins of Ralphie’s name sounds more honorable, unfortunately a less noble reason is actual fact. In approximately 1966, our class gave Ralphie to the school because we felt the school needed it, and it would be the “coolest ever” way to start games. This proved prophetic. Then came the naming for which there was a poll and Ralph was the hands-down winner.
Showing the sophistication and maturity of underclassmen everywhere (approximately that of 12-year-olds) — remember this was the group that renamed the UMC Grill after the only man convicted of cannibalism in Colorado history — Ralph was chosen because it was the most popular phrase of the time. It meant to lose one’s lunch by drinking too much beer. It should be noted that 3.2 beer was legal to 18-year-olds then in Colorado.
When it was pointed out that the calf was actually a female, the “obvious” correction was a feminization of the name. So proud of our gift were we that we made her the Homecoming Queen, and I imagine the young lady that finished as first runner-up to a buffalo is still receiving therapy.
James Todd Jr. (’73)
Centerville, Utah
What About Men’s Tennis?
In the last edition of the Coloradan, there were several articles about CU athletic teams, which I always enjoy as a former member of the CU track team and current member of the Living Legends Hall
of Fame.
But I remain very concerned and unhappy that CU does not have a men’s tennis team. I’ve played tennis pretty much all my life and still play in USTA leagues about six months of every year. CU has a women’s tennis team yet does not have a men’s tennis team. I think this is inexcusable.
Obviously tennis is huge on the West Coast, and I’m sure every other Pac-12 school has a men’s tennis team. I think this is something that CU really needs to do.
Wayne R. Hardy&Բ;(侱Բ’54)
Centennial, Colo.