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Che Battalion
VOLUME 61
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1968
Number 610
‘Jimmy 9 Recalls Past Days
As Pot-Rustler For Sbisa
By JOHN JAMES
Battalion Special Writer
“Sbisa was a mean old cuss!”
James “Jimmy” Henderson re
called of one of the men under
whom he worked on the A&M
campus prior to 1900.
The words flowed freely from
his toothless mouth as he remem
bered his days of pot-rustling
(dish washing), waiting on tables
and peeling potatoes under A&M
Mess Steward Bernard Sbisa.
HE NO LONGER remembers
dates — only people, places and
events. He recalls that he was
nearly 20 when he served his first
meal in the old dining hall which
was destroyed by fire Nov. 11,
1911. Clear in his memory of
working in the dining hall was
the quick temper often displayed
by Sbisa.
Jimmy worked several odd jobs
on campus in those days includ
ing sanitation work, care of the
pecan trees for the horticulture
department, construction work on
the original building of the School
of Veterinary Medicine in 1918,
and bootblack for the cadets.
THE LAST TIME he shined
shoes on campus the cadets were
'iving in tents. Jimmy was one
Weekend Loss
Of Tape Decks
ReportedDown
Tape deck losses have been
greatly reduced since a story in
Thursday’s Battalion reported the
loss of 29 units in eight days.
The Campus Security Depart
ment said Tuesday night that
only one theft had been reported
that morning.
“I think perhaps the publicity
(in the Battalion) has helped curb
the thefts,” said J. D. Gossett,
criminal investigator for the de
partment.
“We have three to four extra
men patrolling the lots at night,”
remarked Chief Ed Powell. He
added that the night patrolmen
have stopped and searched several
suspects in the parking lots at
night.
“We haven’t been able to pin
it down to any trend,” said Gos
sett, in referring to “favorite
spots” of the thieves.
Powell reported that most of
the thefts seem to be on Thurs
day and Friday nights when many
students have clothing and other
valuables packed and ready to
leave for the weekend.
First Bank & Trust now pays
5% per annum on savings certif
icates. —Adv.
of many Negro boys in the Bryan
area who polished shoes on the
campus in the early 1900’s. He
may even have shined the bro-
gans of the late “Pinky” Downs,
though he doesn’t remember.
Jimmy would walk from home
in Bryan to A&M before sunrise
to begin preparing the mess hall
for breakfast. Afterwards, he
cleaned the dishes, then hurried
to the steps of old Ross Hall
where he waited for cadets who
needed shoe shines before class.
“The cadets had to march to
meals over dusty or muddy un
paved roads, so they needed shoe
shines often,” he said. “It was
a good business.”
HE RECALLED that not all
of the students lived in tents.
“The rich boys stayed in pri
vate dormitories off campus,” he
said. “I remember the Armour
boy as being one of them who
lived in a private dormitory. I
sometimes polished shoes for him
in his room, and he gave me
a big candied ham before he
graduated.”
Jimmy believes that this young
man for whom he polished shoes
at the turn of the century is now
president of the Armour Star
Meat Packing Co., but he can’t
remember the man’s first name,
so he isn’t sure if the man he
knew is still living.
TODAY JIMMY lives alone in
a modest home near the Bryan
City Cemetery. He has outlived
two wives. Now he passes time
telling anyone who is willing to
sit and listen about the past of
A&M and the Bryan area. He
is confined to a wheelchair be
cause he lost both legs.
Menu Committee
Meets Thursday
The Civilian Student Menu
Committee will have lunch with
food service director Col. Fred
Dollar Thursday in the regular
monthly discussion of Sbisa Din
ing Hall operations.
Any civilian student desiring
to offer suggestions about the
dining operation is invited to
contact one of the committee
members and attend the luncheon
meeting as his guest.
Members of the committee are:
Civilian Student Council Presi
dent David Wilks, Davis-Gary
Hall (Dorm 18) room 238; Civil
ian Student Council members Wil
liam Holt, Apt. 10D Fairway
Apartments, Bryan; and Jack
MacGillis, Walton C-5; and Presi
dent of the Graduate Student
Council, Mitty Plummer, 495 Ben
Milam Street.
The Corps of Cadets has a
separate menu committee.
-
SIDEWALK ARTISTS
Freshmen pool their artistic skills on the sidewalk in front
of dormitory 1 as they create a spirit sign, a bedsheet ban
ner that will hopefully predict what will happen when A&M
tangles with Florida State in football Saturday. (Photo by
Mike Wright)
Jimmy refers to his age as
being over 75. He has no certifi
cate. He knows only that he was
born on a farm somewhere in
Brazos County before 1900. Re
gardless of his real age, however,
he looks like a man of fifty or
less years.
His strong arms and shoulders
look like those of a prize fighter.
His face shows only slight traces
of wrinkles. Only the whiteness
of his scant hair and thriving
mustache indicate his age.
If you are interested in learn
ing more about A&M’s past from
a man who has lived it, drop in
at Jimmy’s home for an after
noon visit. He’ll welcome you.
Just find Military Street in Bry
an where it borders the cemetery,
and ask anyone to point the way
to Jimmy Henderson.
Rhodes Scholar
Applications Now
Being Accepted
Students wishing to apply for
a Rhodes Scholarship should con
fer with Dr. Richard Ballinger,
Room 302A Academic Building,
by Oct. 11.
Applicants must be single, at
least a junior academically, and
between the ages of 18 and 24 on
Oct. 1, 1968.
After screening by Ballinger,
applications will be considered
pooled with those of other schools
across the state. The state selec
tion committee will then choose
two candidates for district compe
tition.
Each district committee selects
from 12 to 14 candidates from
those chosen by the state commit
tees. From these candidates, not
more than four can be chosen
as scholars.
Thirty-two scholarships a r e
assigned annually to the United
States. States are grouped into
regional districts to facilitate
appointments.
Two Aggies in past years have
been selected as Rhodes Scholars.
Charles Wright Thomas, 1922
chemical engineering graduate,
studied English literature at Ox
ford University and Jack Edward
Brooks, 1946 in electrical engi
neering, studied physics.
Table Tennis
Tourney Set
A table tennis tournament open
to Texas A&M students, faculty-
staff and area citizens will be
staged Friday at the Memorial
Student Center.
Competition in novice and open
divisions will be by U. S. Table
Tennis Association and MSC club
rules, announced Frank Storey of
Pasadena, club president.
The 7 p.m. tournament will be
flayed in the MSC Assembly
Room.
“We are especially interested
in gaining participants from Bry
an and College Station,” Storey
added, noting that several match
es will be guaranteed each player.
Division placement will be de
termined by club rules. Dark
shirts, non-skid shoes, an en
trance fee of 50 cents in the open
division and 25 cents, novice, are
required.
Interested persons should reg
ister with Jim Cain, Box 318,
College Station (846-3965) or
Storey in Dorm 17, Room 104
(845-6593) before 7 p.m. Thurs
day (Oct. 3). Storey said all par
ticipants must register and pay
the entrance fee before the dead
line.
WEATHER
THURSDAY — Cloudy, thunder
showers in the morning. Be
coming partly cloudy in late
afternoon. Winds northerly 10
to 20 m.p.h. High 76, low 69.
FRIDAY — Partly cloudy. Winds
northerly 10 to 15 m.p.h. High
72, low 56.
TALLAHASSEE—Cloudy. Rain-
showers. Winds northerly 10 to
15 m.p.h. High 71. 70 per cent
humidity.
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas A&M.
—Adv.
Campus Chest Plans
$7,500 Fund Drive
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REHEARSALS CONTINUE
C. K. Esten directs his Aggie Players in a rehearsal for Euripides’ classic drama, “The
Trojan Women,” to open for a six-night run in Guion Hall beginning Oct. 28. (Photo by
Mike Wright)
Gymnasts Continue U.S. Tour
After Town Hall Performance
By PAM TROBOY
Battalion Special Writer
Like many young persons long
to do, the members of the Danish
Gym Team, which was Friday’s
special attraction oi the Town
Hall Series, have packed their
belongings into a caravan of
trailers and continued on their
trek across the U. S. and Mexico.
The talented gymnasts under
the direction of Erik Flensted-
Jensen are on their way to per
form in the cultural program of
the Olympics at the special re
quest of the Olympic Organiza
tion Committee.
“Last year’s triumphal tour of
Mexico,” Flensted-Jensen said,
convinced the committee that the
team’s performance would help
promote a better understanding
and mutual appreciation of the
youth of the world through the
combination of sports and cul
tural activities.”
THE 24 PERFORMING MEM
BERS of the team were selected
from many skillful gymnasts of
Denmark, most of whom start
training as young as age seven.
There is great emphasis on phy
sical education in Denmark with
most of the population belonging
to a gymnastic club of some kind.
Thus, when Jensen ran an ad in
the major newspapers last Aug
ust, there was no lack of talent
to select his team from youths
eager to give up home, school
and career for nothing more than
the chance to see America.
Those selected spent two weeks
learning the routines in a train
ing camp in Denmark, followed
by another two weeks training
at Kent School in Connecticut.
While there, the young people
divided their time between prac
ticing routines and renovating the
trailers which had been in stor
age since the last tour.
“THERE WERE A FEW prob
lems fitting five people and their
possessions into such a small
space, but they soon worked out
routines for housekeeping duties
and even had time to name their
new homes,” Flensted-Jensen re
called. “Several of them are fa
miliar names in the United States
—‘Snoopy,’ ‘Esso Tiger,’ and ‘Den
nis the Menace.’ ”
The gymnasts will have seen
a vast portion of North America
by the time their tour ends next
April. During this time, they will
combine side trips to major tour
ist attractions with approximately
3 two-hour performances a week.
The program stresses the per
fect style in modem Danish ex
ercises. The boys’ exercises are
powerful and decided while the
girls’ are graceful and feminine.
These performances, given pri
marily for college audiences, are
particularly helpful in promoting
international friendship as well
as in demonstrating the gym
nasts’ artistry.
“HOW WONDERFUL IT would
be if young people from all na
tions could always meet each,
other in the same spirit of kind
ness and understanding as the
one we have experienced here,”
Flensted-Jensen said.
Mai Bogvad, 25-year-old teach
er from Nykbing Falster, was
particularly impressed with the
hospitality that the people all
over the country have shown the
team, inviting them into their
homes and “just plain being
friendly.”
Mai said that her favorite place
on the tour so far has been Con
necticut simply because they had
gotten to stay there for two
weeks and had gotten to know
the people well. The one thing
she really regrets about traveling
is that they cannot usually stay
in one place more than two or
three days.
Trujillo Retires After 21 Years
Sgt. Maj. Frank Trujillo is re
tiring from the U. S. Army after
21 years service.
The top non-commissioned of
ficer at Texas A&M for the last
two years was presented retire
ment papers and a letter of com
mendation from Army Chief of
Staff Gen. William C. Westmore
land in ceremonies Monday.
Col. Jim H. McCoy, comman
dant, made the presentation.
Trujillo, 38, has accepted em
ployment as a high school ROTC
instructor at Fort Myers, Fla.
He came to A&M in 1966 from
assignment with the First Air
Cavalry Division in Vietnam. The
armor NCO from Roswell, N. M.,
also served in Germany and Kor
ea and was sergeant major of
infantry and air cavalry units.
Sgt. Trujillo earned two awards
of the Combat Infantryman’s
Badge, the Silver Star, Commen
dation Medal with Oak Leaf Clus
ter, Air Medal and Purple Heart.
He attended several service
schools, including the tank lead
ers course in which he was pre
sented the Armor Leadership
Award.
TRADES SGT. MAJ. FOR MR.
The Texas A&M Military Science Department serg-eant
major, Frank Trujillo, receives retirement papers from Col.
Jim H. McCoy, commandant. The department’s top non
commissioned officer for the last two years completed 21
years military service.
Money Marked
For Student
Aid, Welfare
By DALE FOSTER
Battalion Staff Writer
The Campus Chest will inaug
urate its first fund drive in four
years Tuesday with a goal of
$7,500 and a theme slogan of
“Put Out for the Ags.”
Sponsored by the Student Sen
ate Welfare Committee, Campus
Chest will be conducted in a two
pronged effort through Nov. 16.
Money will be collected by Alpha
Phi Omega as a fraternity service
project.
“The money is given by stu
dents to be used for students,”
commented Welfare Committee
Chairman David Howard. “Re
cipients have no obligation to
pay back the money, although
some do.”
FOR ONE part of the drive,
barrels will be set up at football
games to receive donations from
former students and other area
visitors. An article about the
project will also appear in the
Texas Aggie, Association of For
mer Students official publication.
Mail contributions can be sent
to Campus Chest, c/o Alpha Phi
Omega, Box 7454, College Sta
tion, Texas 77840.
The other part of the drive
will concentrate on collecting
money in the dorm areas. To in
crease participation among stu
dents, a Miss Campus Chest Con
test will be held.
EACH CORPS unit and civilian
residence hall will choose a can
didate for Miss Campus Chest.
The winning group will be de
termined on a per capita basis,
figured on $1 for each person
in the group.
Tally boards will be set up at
the “sign comer” by Guion Hall,
with the winner being announced
and presented at the APO street
dance before the Rice football
game Nov. 16.
For special recognition, the
winning unit or hall will receive
a sign to hang outside its dormi
tory designating them as the top
contributors.
Sixty per cent of the money
collected will be used to aid stu
dents. The other 40 per cent will
go to Welfare Committee acti
vities.
“THE DETERMINING factor
in deciding if a student is eligible
for aid if an impossible financial
burden has been placed on him,”
said Dean of Students James P.
Hannigan.
One case was when Fidel Castro
took over Cuba and several Cuban
students were isolated here with
out a family or country. The fund
paid their fees until they could
get jobs to stay in school, Ho
ward said.
A student who had to work
to go to school was helped after
he broke his leg. Also aided were
three students who lost all their
possessions when their house
burned.
Several married students have
received aid when their children
contracted rare blood diseases,
such as leukemia, and later died.
ON ANOTHER occasion, an
Aggie and his date were involved
in an auto accident in which the
girl was killed. The fund aided
the family, for which the girl
was the sole breadwinner.
A committee of students re
views each case presented to it,
Howard said. This year the com
mittee is composed of Chairman
Howard, Student Senate Presi
dent Bill Carter, Civilian Student
Council President David Wilkes,
and two other Welfare Commit
tee members.
Dean Hannigan and Assistant
Dean of Students Bennie Zinn
(See Campus Chest, Page 2)
Bryan Building & Loan
Association, Your Sav
ings Center, since 1919.
—Adv.
B B & L