Volcanic Ash from Mount St. Helens
The vial at right contains volcanic ash from Mount St. Helens. It was given to the University by Greg Thayer. Thayer, son of Fred (professor of speech and theatre at Otterbein) and Donna Thayer, completed his first solo climb of Mount Rainier on May 18, 1980. The climb party was already 1,000 feet below the summit at 8:30 a.m. on the downward journey when Mount St. Helens erupted. While 50 miles away, the eruption was a spectacular sight. Young Thayer did take some pictures and commented to his father in a telephone conversation that night that, “If I wasn’t shaking too much with excitement, I got some good shots.”
George Scott and the First Athletic Field
In 1912, the University bought property to lay out the first athletic field. The work of grading and preparing the field was done by students and faculty. At left is Professor of Latin George Scott, who was also the president of Otterbein from 1901 to 1904. Under his leadership, a campaign raised money to eliminate the Otterbein debt for the first time. His administration also implemented the first true Otterbein budget system.
Another to ID
Okay, we’re going to make it easier on you this time. Last issue we never got a consensus on all the people in the photo (see page 2), but this one should be a cinch. First of all, we know that at least two of the women (and possibly all of them) are members of Sigma Alpha Tau. Looks like it’s probably from the ’70s. Don’t leave us hanging now, step up and let us know the names of these sorority sisters.