The Battalion
PAGE 2
College Station (Brazos County), Texas
Thursday, June 21, 1956
Rescue Efforts Fail
To Save Trapped Men
A steel gondola car entombed
three Mexican laborers for hours
Saturday night defying the i - escue
attempts of College Station Civil
ian Defense Disaster team, Bryan
National Guardsmen and railroad
employees working against time in
the flickering glare of searchlights
to free the trapped men.
When finally freed from the
wreckage one of the men was dead,
one died on the way to Hearne
General Hospital and one died at
11:50 Sunday night.
Only one of the men had been
identified Tuesday night. He was
20-year old Virgilio Vazquez of
El Reloj, Old Mexico. Vazquez re-
covei’ed enough Sunday afternoon
to tell interpreters his other two
companions were also from Mexico
summer.
The wreck occurred about 6:30
p. m. Saturday at Cooks Spur,
about five miles east of Cadlwell,
on the Dalsa Division of the Texas
and New Orleans Railroad. Train
number 250 and 247 were meeting
at the spur when cars jumped the
track and began telescoping and
criss-crossing up and down the
right-of-way.
None of the crew members were
injured in the crash and soon some
400 to 500 on-lookers gathered to
watch rescue attempts of the trap
ped men.
College Station’s Disaster squad
consisting of W. M. Dowell, Bob
Hood, George Carroll, Morris Mad
dox and Virgil Phipps were noti
fied and were among the first to
Ags Call Him Pop
Friend, Philosopher, Barber
pi*
11?
seeking work in Texas for the
reach the scene with equipment.
K&B DRIVING RANGE
— Is Now Open —
Mon. thru Fri. — 4 P.M. till?
Sat. & Sun. — 10 A.M. till?
Fin Feather Rd. Bryan
Dr. Carlton R. Lee
OPTOMETRIST
303A East 26th
Call TA 2-1662 for Appointment
(Across from Court House)
--v.
ifnnmrT
-
m
STILL GOIN.G STRONG—Pop Ivy is shown cutting- the
Rev. Norman Anderson’s hair. Pop says he has cut
“Preacher” Anderson’s hair for the past 28 years.
By DAVE McREYNOLDS
Battalion Editor
Robert W. (Pop) Ivy, owner of
the Aggieland Barber Shop at
North Gate, has it all over the
’man who came to dinner and stay
ed five years’. Ivy came to College
Station in 1920 to get an education
and is still here.
Ivy came to A&M two weeks
before midterm in 1920 and as he
didn’t have a high school education
was unable to enter school. The
only course he could qualify for
at the time was called “chicken-
ology”. This didn’t interest the
32-year-old ex-marine so he took
a job, with the late J. F. Lavender,
in the YMCA cutting hair and has
been in the profession ever since.
“Pop” Ivy, as he has been known
to thousands of Aggies through
the years, has known many of the
young men who have come into the
Aggieland Barber Shop, which he
had owned and operated since 1926,
and have passed out into the world.
Ivy was the first male baby born
in Navarro County, Texas. He was
born in Frost, Texas, August 27,
1889. He lived there until he was
about 17 when he set out to see
the world.
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The Battalion
His travels first took him to
West Texas, to San Angelo and
Sterling City, where he worked at
odd jobs and barbering.
One thing about the barbering
trade according to Ivy is “The
only time I was out of a job was
when I up and quit.”
In 1908 Ivy got tired of West
Texas and joined the United States
Marine Corps. This was his home
until after World War I, except
for a short hitch in another branch
of service, the army. This ended as
quick as Ivy could buy his way out
and get back into the Maxine Cox-ps.
Shortly after his return to the
United States in 1919. he maxaied
a Weymouth, Mass, girl axxd moved
back to Frost. They stayed there
until moving to College Station
two weeks befox'e mid-teirn in 1920.
It was at this time Ivy took the
job with Lavender in the old “Y”.
“I intended to enter college, but
I was 32 years old and just couldn’t
see taking mechanics or that
chickenology, so I opened my own
barbershop in 1926,” said Ivy.
“That’s one thing I never have
liked about College Station”, Ivy
related, “You no sooner get to
know these boys than they graduate
and leave.”
“I have xun into some of them
on vacations, and get Chxistmas
cards from them, but most of them,
well, you just soxta wonder about
at times.” he said.
After Ivy staxted his own shop
he hired Aggies that were practic
ing bax'bering to wox’k their way
through school. But, with the state
licensing program this came to a
halt. About nine boys woxked then-
way through A&M by working in
Pop Ivys’ shop before this law put
an end to this px-ogram.
, A lifelong member of the Metho-
Prospective Ags
May Take Tests
During Summer
Aptitude and achievement
tests for entering students
will be given during the sum
mer months at A&M, accord
ing to C. H. Ransdell, asso
ciate dean of the Basic Division.'
These tests afford students the
opportunity to take the evaluation
tests befox-e New Student Week in
September, he said.
“Students who have been ac
cepted for enrollment at A&M have
thx-ee summer dates to chose frorp”,
Ransdell said, “the tests are offex-ed
June 23, July 7 and July 28. All
tests stax-t promptly at 9 a. m. and
last most of the day. Students de
siring to take the summer tests
should send a card or letter de
signating the date chosen for the
tests, he added.
All accepted students ax’e invited
to take the test, but it isn’t practical
for them to travel more than 200
miles if they plan to take the tests
and x - etux-n home the same day,
Ransdell said. Students contem
plating attending A&M who have
not yet been accepted ai'e also in
vited to take the tests.
Purpose of the x-equired tests is
to help students understand their
areas of strength and weakness, to
serve both student and staff in
academic placement in courses and
as a basis for later counseling with
the student.
The tests will be given in the
lecture room of the Biological
Sciences Building.
dist Chuch, Ivy was one of the first
members of the px’esent congre
gation of the Fix-st Methodist
Church at College Station. He re
calls some of the problems they
met when trying to raise money to
construct the Church here. The
old “barn” is now used for the
meetings of the Wesley Foundation.
This old building was constructed #
some 34 years ago, according to
Ivy. The second preacher to serve
the church was the Reverend Jesse
Thompson, present associate pastor t
at First Methodist Chux’ch in Port
Arthur.
Reverend Thompson is described
by Ivy as “the best friend the
Cadets ever had hex-e.”
“He would come to their aid
whenever they needed it, under all
conditions,” he said.
Still active in the Veterans of
Foreign Wars and American Leg
ion, Ivy helped organize the Legion
while a member of the American
Expeditionary Foxxe in France in
1918. He was a member nf the Col
lege State Post under “Ike” Ash-
burn and later helped organize the
present Bryan Post of the Legion.
He wox-ks now, mostly, with the
VFW Post and is a life member of
the organization.
Recalling old times in the Bxazos *
Valley Ivy said that the dances
held in the old Masonic Club were a
community favorite and about the .
most trouble the Aggies used to ^
raise accurred about the time of the
Senior Ball.
At this time of the year, the
next years seniors would be pre
sented to the assembly. Sopho-
mores and fx-eshmen would take the
juniors off to the woods and tie
them up, or hold them in some way
until after the ceremony. “There
sure used to be a fuss over that”,
Ivy said.
Most of Ivy’s spare time is spent
either fishing, hunting or working
around his home at 3501 S. College
Road, in his gax'den.
Smith Receives
Gold Medal
H. P. Smith, a member of tha
Agricultural Expexdment Station
since 1919 and author and developer
of farm machinery was presented
the Cynxs W. McCormick Gold
Medal yesterday in Roanoke, Va.
The award, annually present
ed by the American Society of
Agricultural Engineers was given
to Smith for his outstanding con
tributions to agriculture. Farm ma
chinery developed by Smith is
manufactured and widely used
thoughout the cottoxx growing areas
of Texas and the South.
His contributions have change!
much of the hand labor qh farm*
to mechanization. Among his de*
velopments are cotton strippers,
fertilizer attachments, plows and
sprayers for weed and insect con
trol.
He is the author of “Farm Ma
chinery and Equipment”, a widely
used textbook ixx addition to many
articles written for trade and farm
publications.
Smith served on an advisory com-,
mission to the Minister of Agri
culture in Tux'key in 1950-51 and
holds member-ship in many pro
fessional organizations. Among
these are: Southexn Agricultural
Workex-s, Steering Committee for
the Belt-Wide Cotton Mechaniza
tion Conference and the regional
Technical Committee on Cotton
Mechanization.
The Battalion
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DAVE McREYNOLDS Editor
Barbara Paige Woman’s
J. B McLeroy Photographer
Joe Dan Boyd Report#*
Maurice Olian CHS Sports Correspondent