Letters to the Editor

The pictorial feature on William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library evoked a very vivid memory for me.

On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, I was in the library’s main reading room researching medieval apprenticeships.

A staff member walked into the room and proclaimed, “President Kennedy is dead.” She then abruptly turned and left, leaving those of us there shocked and bewildered. 

A bunch of guys who lived in Stradley Hall in the 1970s have been keeping a college tradition that we call The Annual alive for five decades, and we’re hoping others who were involved at the start will join us. After freshman year, as a way to keep in touch with friends on Stradley’s 10th floor, we held a cookout the summer of 1974. We did it again the next year and included other friends from Stradley and some girls from Canfield and Mack halls. 

We kept the cookouts going throughout college, and weekend get-togethers replaced them after graduation. No matter where we moved, many of us returned for The Annual. Soon the group expanded to include spouses and kids.

Our gatherings evolved to tailgates and vacations for a while, but after a pandemic-induced hiatus in 2020, we brought The Annual back to Ohio. Each year, we rent a large cabin in Hocking Hills and enjoy cookouts, cornhole, golf and reminiscing.

It’s been challenging to stay in touch with some of the guys and girls from those early years. But we’re planning The Annual for this September at Hocking Hills, and we hope many friends will join us for the 50th anniversary of our first get-together. Interested folks can email me at josephpalbert@gmail.com. 

Nothing could sum up our sentiments better than the words of “Carmen Ohio”: Time and change will surely show, how firm thy friendship — O-HI-O.

When I read “You know you’re a Buckeye when …” and Editor Mary Alice Casey shared that her family’s laundry includes a load of reds each week, I had to write.

My wife’s colleagues just don’t get it. She works from home most of the time and is on Teams calls all day. She will see between one and 20 of her colleagues from The J.M. Smucker Co. (I joke that they copied our “The”) on the laptop every day. As I move around the house (I work remotely 100% of the time), they see me walk behind her. 

Trying to be funny, they asked, “Does Bill wear the same red shirt every day?” Ha! I let them know at least half of my wardrobe is scarlet. And the other half is gray! 

“Glenn’s globe shines on in his old office” was a heartwarming story. Sen. Glenn is one of Ohio’s most revered. His impact on this world mirrors his lifelong commitment to excellence. His years of leadership and service in our democratic institutions still flash as a beacon for peace throughout this world. His courage to take those initial steps to the stars reflects his vision for the future of humanity — still shining bright like that beautiful globe.

We all benefit from the mentors in our lives, as exemplified by the story “These students make Columbus a warmer place.” I cannot think of a population that could benefit more from the early involvement of mentors. We all have skills, knowledge and experience from which others will benefit. Find an opportunity, formal or informal, to mentor others. You will receive more in return than you provide.

Loved reading “Alumni tell us: What led you to choose Ohio State?” I chose Ohio State because my geometry teacher, Gene Pillot, said they had the best marching band. I didn’t even play an instrument! Also, I was admitted into the Alumnae Scholarship Housing Program, a cooperative living environment. I could then afford to attend college. Tuition was $75 per quarter and room and board the same, then $90 and $105.

I want to thank you for the outstanding Winter 2023 issue of Ohio State Alumni Magazine.

My husband, Frank Dwight Stobbs ’57, died December 5, 2023, at age 89. He worked for Ohio State for some years, and then in rescuing companies from difficulties, and I feel sure that the business courses he took at Ohio State helped him to be a very good businessman. 

I graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1960 and taught first grade for years. We married in 1964 and had three wonderful children. We had been married for 59 years.

Dwight received your magazine for years, and I always gave it a cursory reading. However, this issue I read from cover to cover, enjoyed it very much and found it interesting and inspiring.  

My two favorite articles were the ones about Patrice Palmer ’99 and the barn rescue work of Doug Morgan ’82 JD and Beth Morgan ’79. The article about Patrice Palmer was especially inspiring to me. She has had an incredible life and continues to live it very well. I was happy to read about old barns being saved.