Identified! The circled skier is alumna Mary Lou Hawkins Franks of Springfield, Missouri.
Chautauqua Ski Hill
The article and picture titled 鈥�THEN January 1949鈥� [Winter 2014 issue] is very special to me. The young lady sitting on the rock is my boyfriend鈥檚 mother. Her name is聽Mary Lou Hawkins Franks聽(Econ鈥�51) and [she] was 18 at the time of the picture. Mary Lou resides in Springfield, Mo., with her son, Bob Shattuck, and is 84 years old. When we saw this article and the picture we were so thrilled, and when we showed her she remembered all the good times skiing while living in Boulder and attending CU.
Ronda J. Yung
Springfield, Mo.
The Importance of Humor
Reading your Fall 2014 article on humor 摆鈥�The Humor Code鈥漖 reminded me that every year I taught speech and English classes entailed instructing secondary students on the appropriate uses and limits of humor. Now I find, with all the Internet relays, that people still need better understanding of the difference between humor as fun and humor as a cruel weapon!
Too often we see 鈥渉umor鈥� used to viciously propagate derogatory stereotypes, belittle adversaries unfairly or ridicule physical or psychological characteristics a person cannot help. However, if you choose to gently jab your own flaws, people tend to love you for being 鈥渉uman,鈥� whereas turning those barbs on others creates resentment. Appropriate use of humor must involve a measure of respect for the intended target.
Thanks for illustrating this neglected but important aspect of our humanity.
Wendie Vermillion听(惭颁辞尘尘罢丑迟谤鈥�72)
Sisters, Ore.
Sister Act
[Regarding 鈥�Sister Act: Co-Education at CU,鈥� Winter 2014]. It is always nice sharing stories of those ladies who proceeded us. I enjoyed reading about how聽Ella Tyler聽(A&S1886) helped found the Delta Gamma chapter in 1886. The Delta Gammas remain an outstanding fraternal organization at CU, as do the Pi Beta Phis, who preceded the Delta Gammas by two years, having come on campus in 1884.
Nancy Dornfeld听(叠耻蝉鈥�65)
Lakewood, Colo.
Remembering Dr. B
摆鈥�Boulder Beat,鈥� by聽Paul Danish聽(Hist鈥�65), Fall 2014] brought back many memories, mostly nice. I took a course with Dr. Bitter in either 鈥�61 or 鈥�62 (don鈥檛 remember meeting Mr. Danish) and found it very interesting. Dr. B challenged us (a very small class) to culture Mycobacterium tuberculosis. As I remember, Dr. B said it was notoriously difficult to culture successfully. Somehow, we succeeded and even made some nice slides of this acid-fast bacillus. I can鈥檛 imagine that the current faculty would allow undergraduates today to attempt to culture this very contagious bacterium without benefit of high-powered hoods with HEPA filters. The hip flask story was great!
Philip Johnson听(笔丑补谤尘鈥�63)
Barrington, R.I.
Photography by Carnegie Branch Library for Local History Boulder Historical Society Collection