Title
Mrs. Karl (Bernice) Nicholas interview, discussing her late husband, Karl Nicholas, BV alumnus, conducted by William H. Cumberland
Subject
Buena Vista College -- Oral histories
Nicholas, Karl
Oral histories -- Iowa -- Storm Lake
Nicholas, Bernice
College students--Iowa--Storm Lake
Publisher
Buena Vista University
Date
15-Jun-85
Format
audio/mpeg
Language
English
Type
Sound
Identifier
http://bvuarchives.bvu.edu/Audio/OralHistories/MrsKarlNicholas.mp3
Interviewer
William H. "Bill" Cumberland
Interviewee
Bernice (Mrs. Karl) Nicholas
Location
Nicholas Mrs Karl.mp3
Transcription
WC=William Cumberland
BN=Bernice Nicholas
WC: [00:00:01] And I'm interviewing Mrs Karl Nicholas-- at the-- Methodist-- Manor June 15th 1988, and we're going to discuss some aspects of the-- concerning the history of Buena Vista College. Mrs. Nicholas, you and your husband were both graduates of Buena Vista, he with a four-year program and you with a two-year program-- program.
BN: [00:00:33] That's right. [her voice is faint and in the background]
WC: [00:00:33] And you've told me that you were a native of Buena Vista County--
BN: [00:00:36] I was born at Newell.
WC: [00:00:42] Born at Newell.
BN: [00:00:42] I grew up Sac County, you might say, that I had thirteen years at Early, and then came here, graduated from Storm Lake High [unintelligible] Buena Vista.
WC: [00:00:51] Was your husband a native of Storm Lake?
BN: [00:00:53] Storm Lake Park, Iowa. (?) [ perhaps she meant to say: Storm Lake and Lake Park]
WC: [00:00:55] I see.
BN: [00:00:56] Dickinson County, I believe it is.
WC: [00:00:58] I see. Well, let's go back to the 1920s for a few moments. And he [Karl Nicholas] told me and you've told me that he was responsible for naming the-- Beavers for--
BN: [00:01:13] That's true.
WC: [00:01:14] You wish to recount how that came about?
BN: [00:01:16] Well, that was really before my time with him. I believe that happened in '21. I graduated high school in '21 and I hardly knew each other by that time. [Cumberland chuckles] [Recorder stops and restarts]
WC: [00:01:38] As far as the name "The Beavers" is concerned, Karl Nicholas was responsible for naming the Beavers. There seemed to be some misconception concerning how the name originated because an article reprinted from the November 21st, 1921 Tack, and the October 16th, 1981 Tack, noted that the Storm Lake Register had seemed to think that Des Moines Register evolved the name. [At this point, Cumberland seems to be quoting a source.] "Not so. One of our own students has the honor. It happened last spring when there was much talk of the need for a team name. Dr Pierce suggested Bevo, but that hardly seemed appropriate, although it was suggested. As Karl Nicholas and George Deal toyed with the idea of Bevo and BV and BV'ers. In the library, it must be admitted, to Karl came the brilliant thought of Beavers, and thus the name. All seem of one accord, and the thought that a better name could not have been chosen. For if there is one characteristic our teams have had above others, it is that of being workers. We've had to work for what we've gained for we've always played bigger schools than ourselves and we've never been ashamed of the results." [Recorder stops and restarts] Mrs. Nicholas, do you recall Dr. Fracker?
BN: [00:03:01] I didn't have any classes with him [unintelligible]
WC: [00:03:10] Anything interesting that you recall about him? Could you describe him in any way?
BN: [00:03:19] He was an elderly man as I remember him. I didn't ever-- like I say, I didn't have any classes. So, in that respect, I don't know too much about him.
WC: [00:03:30] So, you didn't really have any contact with him. But he was highly respected by the-- by the students. [She assents.] In 1921, he would have been-- let's see, 68 years old.
BN: [00:03:50] You know, that seemed old-- [crosstalk].
WC: [00:03:51] Well, I-- I imagine--
BN: [00:03:55] [unintelligible--something about naming the library after him]
WC: [00:03:57] Yes, right. That's right, and he-- he taught until 19-- 1929. Alice Wilcox-- probably finished about-- Well, she was at Buena Vista from 1902 to 1922. Do you remember her?
BN: [00:04:18] I remember her, but I didn't have any classes with her.
WC: [00:04:20] I see. But what-- you specialized in homec-- home economics.
BN: [00:04:26] [She echoes "home economics"] Garnet Searle was the-- my teacher at that time, my professor. She was from Ames. Garnet Searle.
WC: [00:04:33] How do you spell the --
BN: [00:04:37] S - e - a - r - l - e - s
WC: [00:04:40] S - e - a -
BN: [00:04:40] r - l - e - s. I see. From Ames.
WC: [00:04:41] What was the first name?
BN: [00:04:42] Garnet.
WC: [00:04:44] Garnet. OK.
BN: [00:04:45] And she had the home economics department at that time. She was the best--
WC: [00:04:52] Is there anyone else you remember?
BN: [00:04:54] Mrs. Banghart.
WC: [00:04:56] All right.
BN: [00:04:57] She had her-- my chemistry.
WC: [00:05:00] [chuckles] You would have to have some chemistry in home economics.
BN: [00:05:05] I remember her, and then I became a lab assistant.
WC: [00:05:06] Uhm-hmm. Well, what was it like in the 1920s?
BN: [00:05:16] It was swell. [unintelligible] [Cumberland chuckles] and while I was studying, too.
WC: [00:05:23] You managed--
BN: [00:05:23] There was Old Main.
WC: [00:05:27] Yes.
BN: [00:05:27] And the freshman bench at the head of the first [unintelligible] almost halfway up the stairs to the second floor. That was a good place to sit and study or to meet your friends.
WC: [00:05:40] Were there a lot of college parties?
BN: [00:05:45] We had literary societies.
WC: [00:05:47] And debates. And smoking was not permitted on campus and certainly not drinking. Were there any violations of those rules?
BN: [00:06:02] None to my knowledge [unintelligible]
WC: [00:06:05] A little different atmosphere than--
BN: [00:06:10] It was quite different than now. I lived right across the building, right where my home is now. [unintelligible]
WC: [00:06:18] So you stayed at home then and worked. Were there dormitories at that time? Well, there were no dormitories were there? There was a Ladies Hall, but it burned at one time. But there were no college dormitories but-- in the early 1920s they. So that made for a different type of college life.
BN: [00:06:40] [unintelligible] homes.
WC: [00:06:40] Yes. They would have had to have dated--
BN: [00:06:50] [unintelligible] and you know--
WC: [00:06:50] So that-- so the enrollment was rather small.
BN: [00:07:07] I know my mother had students staying at her house. After I went to teach, her [unintelligible]
WC: [00:07:09] Do you recall who was president?
BN: [00:07:12] Oh, dear, way back then.
WC: [00:07:13] Boyd was--
BN: [00:07:15] That was after, that was later. Dr. Boyd. [unintelligible] Name some others.
WC: [00:07:32] Olinger?
BN: [00:07:32] No. He was before my time.
WC: [00:07:32] Jones. I-- I think Boyd might have been president, though, because he was president in the early '20s.
BN: [00:07:42] [unintelligible]-- they had a daughter that was my sister's age. He wasn't there very long.
WC: [00:07:50] No. No. Most of them were not there very long. Did you know President Henry Olson?
BN: [00:08:01] Yes.
WC: [00:08:01] What was your feeling about Mr. Olson?
BN: [00:08:17] [unintelligible] I didn't really know him that well. I think he made a very fine president. I think the the college progressed under his leadership.
WC: [00:08:19] Yes, he has the-- still the longest tenure of any-- of any president and many people think very highly of him. I know-- I know the Hirsches did. Mrs. Hirsch and Dr. Hirsch--
BN: [00:08:42] I remember them.
WC: [00:08:43] Yes. We knew them very well, of course.
BN: [00:08:49] What year did you come here?
WC: [00:08:49] 1958. So, we were quite close to the Hirsches and George Reynolds. And I even knew F. F. Smith, although he was very old, and I only met him at college functions, but I did talk to him a time or two.
BN: [00:09:12] He came from New England.
WC: [00:09:13] Yes. I suppose he was-- But you had no classes under him. He came in 1919.
BN: [00:09:17] No, my chemistry classes [unintelligible] Garnet Searles for my home economics classes and Mrs. Banghart for chemistry. And I'm trying to think-- I had-- take me back so far-- [unintelligible] I had [unintelligible] with Alice Wilcox.
WC: [00:09:48] No, you may not have. She was the English professor and--.
BN: [00:09:52] There was another teacher, and I can't recall her name. I had my English with her.
WC: [00:10:00] Dewey Deal?
BN: [00:10:03] No. No classes. She-- under her. No.
WC: [00:10:07] But you knew her.
BN: [00:10:08] Yes, I did. She belonged to the same sorority as I did.
WC: [00:10:11] Is that right? Well, she was-- she quite a-- she was quite a fine teacher.
BN: [00:10:20] Very popular.
WC: [00:10:20] I know Marjorie Holmes studied under her and apparently thought a great deal of her. Do you have any favorite story that you'd like to recall during that period of time?
BN: [00:10:41] That would be concerning college work--
WC: [00:10:42] Well, college work, college life or anything that-- that is interesting or amusing or --
BN: [00:10:51] My social life. We had our-- I belonged to the Star Literary Society and that was on [unintelligible] upstairs, on the top floor. And we did have some good-- good times, but we had some debates [unintelligible] programs of some sort, music.
WC: [00:11:14] Was it difficult to get students together? You see, now their dormitory and the campus center-- Then, so many lived off campus.
BN: [00:11:26] Life was that much slower, too.
WC: [00:11:27] Yes.
BN: [00:11:30] Students living nearby could gather and [unintelligible] May Day affair that first year I thought was real nice. [unintelligible] --had a big May pole. I don't recall anyone [unintelligible]
WC: [00:11:53] Where was the lib--? The library was located in Old Main. And it wasn't a very large library, either. Was it in the basement?
BN: [00:12:04] I think it was.
WC: [00:12:06] That's what I-- that's-- what I thought it was.
BN: [00:12:12] The business classes were in the basement. Typewriting and so forth. Shorthand.
WC: [00:12:17] Were you interested in the athletic contests? Jim Kelly was coach, I believe--
BN: [00:12:24] Yeah.
WC: [00:12:24] about that time.
BN: [00:12:25] And the field was on the campus. They played football right there on the campus.
WC: [00:12:30] Right. By Old Main.
BN: [00:12:33] Just south of Old Main.
WC: [00:12:34] Uhm-hmm. During the 1920s. Yeah, I think Bradford Field was constructed in 1924.
BN: [00:12:45] Might have been. I don't know.
WC: [00:12:46] So that would have that would have been a little bit, a little bit later.
BN: [00:12:52] [unintelligible -- something about teaching]
WC: [00:12:54] So you taught after your graduation.
BN: [00:12:58] Four years.
WC: [00:12:59] I see. Where did you teach at?
BN: [00:13:03] I taught at [unintlelligible - sounds like "Jolley"] for three years [unintelligible] consolidated school. And at Early one year.
WC: [00:13:08] I see. So you were still close to home, then.
BN: [00:13:13] That's right.
WC: [00:13:16] You had a son who went to Buena Vista, Blair.
BN: [00:13:22] Blair.
WC: [00:13:22] Right, in the early 1960s.
BN: [00:13:26] He graduated high school in 1960. Then he went to Buena Vista four years and graduated there.
WC: [00:13:30] And he went on to graduate school.
BN: [00:13:32] He went to Lincoln.
WC: [00:13:38] University of Nebraska.
BN: [00:13:39] University of Nebraska. [unintelligible - something about a graduate degree] -- received his doctorate. His post-doctorate at Virginia [unintelligible].
WC: [00:13:49] And what is-- Where is he--.
BN: [00:13:51] Now?
WC: [00:13:52] Yes.
BN: [00:13:53] Well, [unintelligible] Arlington, Texas, and he's working for the nuclear regulatory commission.
WC: [00:13:59] I see. Well, that's what I thought. I believe I may have had him in one class.
BN: [00:14:06] Would that have been--
WC: [00:14:07] Well, it would have been probably the survey in U.S. history. I'd have to look back at-- but I kind of I remember him, and I know he-- knew he had received a doctorate. But I didn't know where he was at the-- at the present-- at the present time.
BN: [00:14:25] He has two children. One is graduated from high school. He's taking some college work. He's 21. I know that his daughter [unintelligible] Well, she will be a senior this [unintelligible]
WC: [00:14:42] Has your son published some things?
BN: [00:14:45] Well, I have his thesis.
WC: [00:14:47] Yes, his thesis was published.
BN: [00:14:49] Yeah. In book form.
WC: [00:14:52] I see, okay.
BN: [00:14:53] I think you'll find it in the library.
WC: [00:14:55] All right. Well, I-- What-- Sometimes I like to know those things because I like to know what our graduates have done.
BN: [00:15:06] [unintelligible] He took chemistry here under Dr. Christiansen.
WC: [00:15:14] And he felt he got really fine instruction.
BN: [00:15:16] Oh, I suppose so.
WC: [00:15:18] [laughs] Well, I thought maybe he remarked as--.
BN: [00:15:21] No, he didn't remark about it.
WC: [00:15:23] As you--
BN: [00:15:26] [unintelligible] the rest of the science that he had, higher, at Lincoln. University of Nebraska.
WC: [00:15:28] As you-- Do you keep up with the college now? As you look at--
BN: [00:15:38] Yes, I do. [unintelligible] --what is going on.
WC: [00:15:44] What kind of feelings do you have as you look back at the '20s or '30s?
BN: [00:15:50] I can see that the college is getting very big. [Cumberland chuckles] To my knowledge, I don't know, I hope it doesn't get too big. [unintelligible] --made a lot of progress in the area.
WC: [00:16:11] It's certainly made a lot of progress.
BN: [00:16:13] I think.
WC: [00:16:15] Yes, since-- since I've been here with, many buildings constructed and much larger student body and faculty. A lot of different emphases than we had earlier.
BN: [00:16:26] It's really quite a different college. [Cumberland chuckles] Students are different.
WC: [00:16:29] Yes, they are.
BN: [00:16:31] We enjoy living at the edge of the campus, you might say. Or in the middle of the campus and meeting up with students. I know my husband always enjoyed having them go by and greeting us or we greeting them. We never had any-- any trouble with them [unintelligible]
WC: [00:16:53] Well, change takes place. It's a Chang-- changing country. It's a lot-- lot different than-- as we get older we see the differences. We perhaps don't always enjoy them.
BN: [00:17:10] Well, maybe we become old-fashioned.
WC: [00:17:14] [laughs] Well thank you very much, Mrs. Nicholas. I've enjoyed talking to you, and I'll turn the recorder off now.
BN=Bernice Nicholas
WC: [00:00:01] And I'm interviewing Mrs Karl Nicholas-- at the-- Methodist-- Manor June 15th 1988, and we're going to discuss some aspects of the-- concerning the history of Buena Vista College. Mrs. Nicholas, you and your husband were both graduates of Buena Vista, he with a four-year program and you with a two-year program-- program.
BN: [00:00:33] That's right. [her voice is faint and in the background]
WC: [00:00:33] And you've told me that you were a native of Buena Vista County--
BN: [00:00:36] I was born at Newell.
WC: [00:00:42] Born at Newell.
BN: [00:00:42] I grew up Sac County, you might say, that I had thirteen years at Early, and then came here, graduated from Storm Lake High [unintelligible] Buena Vista.
WC: [00:00:51] Was your husband a native of Storm Lake?
BN: [00:00:53] Storm Lake Park, Iowa. (?) [ perhaps she meant to say: Storm Lake and Lake Park]
WC: [00:00:55] I see.
BN: [00:00:56] Dickinson County, I believe it is.
WC: [00:00:58] I see. Well, let's go back to the 1920s for a few moments. And he [Karl Nicholas] told me and you've told me that he was responsible for naming the-- Beavers for--
BN: [00:01:13] That's true.
WC: [00:01:14] You wish to recount how that came about?
BN: [00:01:16] Well, that was really before my time with him. I believe that happened in '21. I graduated high school in '21 and I hardly knew each other by that time. [Cumberland chuckles] [Recorder stops and restarts]
WC: [00:01:38] As far as the name "The Beavers" is concerned, Karl Nicholas was responsible for naming the Beavers. There seemed to be some misconception concerning how the name originated because an article reprinted from the November 21st, 1921 Tack, and the October 16th, 1981 Tack, noted that the Storm Lake Register had seemed to think that Des Moines Register evolved the name. [At this point, Cumberland seems to be quoting a source.] "Not so. One of our own students has the honor. It happened last spring when there was much talk of the need for a team name. Dr Pierce suggested Bevo, but that hardly seemed appropriate, although it was suggested. As Karl Nicholas and George Deal toyed with the idea of Bevo and BV and BV'ers. In the library, it must be admitted, to Karl came the brilliant thought of Beavers, and thus the name. All seem of one accord, and the thought that a better name could not have been chosen. For if there is one characteristic our teams have had above others, it is that of being workers. We've had to work for what we've gained for we've always played bigger schools than ourselves and we've never been ashamed of the results." [Recorder stops and restarts] Mrs. Nicholas, do you recall Dr. Fracker?
BN: [00:03:01] I didn't have any classes with him [unintelligible]
WC: [00:03:10] Anything interesting that you recall about him? Could you describe him in any way?
BN: [00:03:19] He was an elderly man as I remember him. I didn't ever-- like I say, I didn't have any classes. So, in that respect, I don't know too much about him.
WC: [00:03:30] So, you didn't really have any contact with him. But he was highly respected by the-- by the students. [She assents.] In 1921, he would have been-- let's see, 68 years old.
BN: [00:03:50] You know, that seemed old-- [crosstalk].
WC: [00:03:51] Well, I-- I imagine--
BN: [00:03:55] [unintelligible--something about naming the library after him]
WC: [00:03:57] Yes, right. That's right, and he-- he taught until 19-- 1929. Alice Wilcox-- probably finished about-- Well, she was at Buena Vista from 1902 to 1922. Do you remember her?
BN: [00:04:18] I remember her, but I didn't have any classes with her.
WC: [00:04:20] I see. But what-- you specialized in homec-- home economics.
BN: [00:04:26] [She echoes "home economics"] Garnet Searle was the-- my teacher at that time, my professor. She was from Ames. Garnet Searle.
WC: [00:04:33] How do you spell the --
BN: [00:04:37] S - e - a - r - l - e - s
WC: [00:04:40] S - e - a -
BN: [00:04:40] r - l - e - s. I see. From Ames.
WC: [00:04:41] What was the first name?
BN: [00:04:42] Garnet.
WC: [00:04:44] Garnet. OK.
BN: [00:04:45] And she had the home economics department at that time. She was the best--
WC: [00:04:52] Is there anyone else you remember?
BN: [00:04:54] Mrs. Banghart.
WC: [00:04:56] All right.
BN: [00:04:57] She had her-- my chemistry.
WC: [00:05:00] [chuckles] You would have to have some chemistry in home economics.
BN: [00:05:05] I remember her, and then I became a lab assistant.
WC: [00:05:06] Uhm-hmm. Well, what was it like in the 1920s?
BN: [00:05:16] It was swell. [unintelligible] [Cumberland chuckles] and while I was studying, too.
WC: [00:05:23] You managed--
BN: [00:05:23] There was Old Main.
WC: [00:05:27] Yes.
BN: [00:05:27] And the freshman bench at the head of the first [unintelligible] almost halfway up the stairs to the second floor. That was a good place to sit and study or to meet your friends.
WC: [00:05:40] Were there a lot of college parties?
BN: [00:05:45] We had literary societies.
WC: [00:05:47] And debates. And smoking was not permitted on campus and certainly not drinking. Were there any violations of those rules?
BN: [00:06:02] None to my knowledge [unintelligible]
WC: [00:06:05] A little different atmosphere than--
BN: [00:06:10] It was quite different than now. I lived right across the building, right where my home is now. [unintelligible]
WC: [00:06:18] So you stayed at home then and worked. Were there dormitories at that time? Well, there were no dormitories were there? There was a Ladies Hall, but it burned at one time. But there were no college dormitories but-- in the early 1920s they. So that made for a different type of college life.
BN: [00:06:40] [unintelligible] homes.
WC: [00:06:40] Yes. They would have had to have dated--
BN: [00:06:50] [unintelligible] and you know--
WC: [00:06:50] So that-- so the enrollment was rather small.
BN: [00:07:07] I know my mother had students staying at her house. After I went to teach, her [unintelligible]
WC: [00:07:09] Do you recall who was president?
BN: [00:07:12] Oh, dear, way back then.
WC: [00:07:13] Boyd was--
BN: [00:07:15] That was after, that was later. Dr. Boyd. [unintelligible] Name some others.
WC: [00:07:32] Olinger?
BN: [00:07:32] No. He was before my time.
WC: [00:07:32] Jones. I-- I think Boyd might have been president, though, because he was president in the early '20s.
BN: [00:07:42] [unintelligible]-- they had a daughter that was my sister's age. He wasn't there very long.
WC: [00:07:50] No. No. Most of them were not there very long. Did you know President Henry Olson?
BN: [00:08:01] Yes.
WC: [00:08:01] What was your feeling about Mr. Olson?
BN: [00:08:17] [unintelligible] I didn't really know him that well. I think he made a very fine president. I think the the college progressed under his leadership.
WC: [00:08:19] Yes, he has the-- still the longest tenure of any-- of any president and many people think very highly of him. I know-- I know the Hirsches did. Mrs. Hirsch and Dr. Hirsch--
BN: [00:08:42] I remember them.
WC: [00:08:43] Yes. We knew them very well, of course.
BN: [00:08:49] What year did you come here?
WC: [00:08:49] 1958. So, we were quite close to the Hirsches and George Reynolds. And I even knew F. F. Smith, although he was very old, and I only met him at college functions, but I did talk to him a time or two.
BN: [00:09:12] He came from New England.
WC: [00:09:13] Yes. I suppose he was-- But you had no classes under him. He came in 1919.
BN: [00:09:17] No, my chemistry classes [unintelligible] Garnet Searles for my home economics classes and Mrs. Banghart for chemistry. And I'm trying to think-- I had-- take me back so far-- [unintelligible] I had [unintelligible] with Alice Wilcox.
WC: [00:09:48] No, you may not have. She was the English professor and--.
BN: [00:09:52] There was another teacher, and I can't recall her name. I had my English with her.
WC: [00:10:00] Dewey Deal?
BN: [00:10:03] No. No classes. She-- under her. No.
WC: [00:10:07] But you knew her.
BN: [00:10:08] Yes, I did. She belonged to the same sorority as I did.
WC: [00:10:11] Is that right? Well, she was-- she quite a-- she was quite a fine teacher.
BN: [00:10:20] Very popular.
WC: [00:10:20] I know Marjorie Holmes studied under her and apparently thought a great deal of her. Do you have any favorite story that you'd like to recall during that period of time?
BN: [00:10:41] That would be concerning college work--
WC: [00:10:42] Well, college work, college life or anything that-- that is interesting or amusing or --
BN: [00:10:51] My social life. We had our-- I belonged to the Star Literary Society and that was on [unintelligible] upstairs, on the top floor. And we did have some good-- good times, but we had some debates [unintelligible] programs of some sort, music.
WC: [00:11:14] Was it difficult to get students together? You see, now their dormitory and the campus center-- Then, so many lived off campus.
BN: [00:11:26] Life was that much slower, too.
WC: [00:11:27] Yes.
BN: [00:11:30] Students living nearby could gather and [unintelligible] May Day affair that first year I thought was real nice. [unintelligible] --had a big May pole. I don't recall anyone [unintelligible]
WC: [00:11:53] Where was the lib--? The library was located in Old Main. And it wasn't a very large library, either. Was it in the basement?
BN: [00:12:04] I think it was.
WC: [00:12:06] That's what I-- that's-- what I thought it was.
BN: [00:12:12] The business classes were in the basement. Typewriting and so forth. Shorthand.
WC: [00:12:17] Were you interested in the athletic contests? Jim Kelly was coach, I believe--
BN: [00:12:24] Yeah.
WC: [00:12:24] about that time.
BN: [00:12:25] And the field was on the campus. They played football right there on the campus.
WC: [00:12:30] Right. By Old Main.
BN: [00:12:33] Just south of Old Main.
WC: [00:12:34] Uhm-hmm. During the 1920s. Yeah, I think Bradford Field was constructed in 1924.
BN: [00:12:45] Might have been. I don't know.
WC: [00:12:46] So that would have that would have been a little bit, a little bit later.
BN: [00:12:52] [unintelligible -- something about teaching]
WC: [00:12:54] So you taught after your graduation.
BN: [00:12:58] Four years.
WC: [00:12:59] I see. Where did you teach at?
BN: [00:13:03] I taught at [unintlelligible - sounds like "Jolley"] for three years [unintelligible] consolidated school. And at Early one year.
WC: [00:13:08] I see. So you were still close to home, then.
BN: [00:13:13] That's right.
WC: [00:13:16] You had a son who went to Buena Vista, Blair.
BN: [00:13:22] Blair.
WC: [00:13:22] Right, in the early 1960s.
BN: [00:13:26] He graduated high school in 1960. Then he went to Buena Vista four years and graduated there.
WC: [00:13:30] And he went on to graduate school.
BN: [00:13:32] He went to Lincoln.
WC: [00:13:38] University of Nebraska.
BN: [00:13:39] University of Nebraska. [unintelligible - something about a graduate degree] -- received his doctorate. His post-doctorate at Virginia [unintelligible].
WC: [00:13:49] And what is-- Where is he--.
BN: [00:13:51] Now?
WC: [00:13:52] Yes.
BN: [00:13:53] Well, [unintelligible] Arlington, Texas, and he's working for the nuclear regulatory commission.
WC: [00:13:59] I see. Well, that's what I thought. I believe I may have had him in one class.
BN: [00:14:06] Would that have been--
WC: [00:14:07] Well, it would have been probably the survey in U.S. history. I'd have to look back at-- but I kind of I remember him, and I know he-- knew he had received a doctorate. But I didn't know where he was at the-- at the present-- at the present time.
BN: [00:14:25] He has two children. One is graduated from high school. He's taking some college work. He's 21. I know that his daughter [unintelligible] Well, she will be a senior this [unintelligible]
WC: [00:14:42] Has your son published some things?
BN: [00:14:45] Well, I have his thesis.
WC: [00:14:47] Yes, his thesis was published.
BN: [00:14:49] Yeah. In book form.
WC: [00:14:52] I see, okay.
BN: [00:14:53] I think you'll find it in the library.
WC: [00:14:55] All right. Well, I-- What-- Sometimes I like to know those things because I like to know what our graduates have done.
BN: [00:15:06] [unintelligible] He took chemistry here under Dr. Christiansen.
WC: [00:15:14] And he felt he got really fine instruction.
BN: [00:15:16] Oh, I suppose so.
WC: [00:15:18] [laughs] Well, I thought maybe he remarked as--.
BN: [00:15:21] No, he didn't remark about it.
WC: [00:15:23] As you--
BN: [00:15:26] [unintelligible] the rest of the science that he had, higher, at Lincoln. University of Nebraska.
WC: [00:15:28] As you-- Do you keep up with the college now? As you look at--
BN: [00:15:38] Yes, I do. [unintelligible] --what is going on.
WC: [00:15:44] What kind of feelings do you have as you look back at the '20s or '30s?
BN: [00:15:50] I can see that the college is getting very big. [Cumberland chuckles] To my knowledge, I don't know, I hope it doesn't get too big. [unintelligible] --made a lot of progress in the area.
WC: [00:16:11] It's certainly made a lot of progress.
BN: [00:16:13] I think.
WC: [00:16:15] Yes, since-- since I've been here with, many buildings constructed and much larger student body and faculty. A lot of different emphases than we had earlier.
BN: [00:16:26] It's really quite a different college. [Cumberland chuckles] Students are different.
WC: [00:16:29] Yes, they are.
BN: [00:16:31] We enjoy living at the edge of the campus, you might say. Or in the middle of the campus and meeting up with students. I know my husband always enjoyed having them go by and greeting us or we greeting them. We never had any-- any trouble with them [unintelligible]
WC: [00:16:53] Well, change takes place. It's a Chang-- changing country. It's a lot-- lot different than-- as we get older we see the differences. We perhaps don't always enjoy them.
BN: [00:17:10] Well, maybe we become old-fashioned.
WC: [00:17:14] [laughs] Well thank you very much, Mrs. Nicholas. I've enjoyed talking to you, and I'll turn the recorder off now.
Original Format
audio cassette
Duration
0:17:31
Bit Rate/Frequency
80 kbps