Dr. James Willis, SAU Archivist and retired professor of history and political science spoke to the two Honors Seminar courses today. His topic was the history of SAU traditions. He started with SAU's colors, blue and gold, the same colors as those of the National Farmer's Educational and Cooperative Union. In the early part of the 20th century it was the largest farmer's union and the most liberal. The union was instrumental in lobbying for high schools that taught scientific farming. Willis went on to cover the origin of the mulerider mascot, how the yearbook changed from the Monitor to the Mulerider, and when the Bray first appeared.Willis also talked about how the student body composition changed over the years including when the first African-American matriculated and the rise in international student numbers. Willis reminisced about his student days too. When at SSC he lived in Graham (demolished to make space for Honors North) and in Graham Annex (now Honors South).
Dr. Willis' history of SAU, The Mulerider School's Centennial History 1909-2009, will be published soon, with a book signing scheduled for November 30, 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment