ItCWtti erWTEH, INC*
F.O. BOX 45436 B
DALLAS, TEX. 75235
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Vol. 67 No. 133
College Station, Texas Wednesday, July 26, 1972
Badgett to retire
afterVHHHlH
years
«?•
>.6. : ' S,
Walter Howard Badgett now
plans to watch AAM grow from
the golf course.
For 38 years Badgett has been
building campus facilities, includ
ing planning most of the build
ings on campus today. '
Friday was his last official
working day, he left for two
weeks vacation and will retire
July 31. Except for service during
World War II, the cigar-chomp
ing TAMO graduate has worked
all his adult life for the univer
sity. He plans to spend retire
ment days improving his golf
game.
•There never was a dull mo
ment,'' Badgett rev—led. “Every
1 day there see re new problems to
solve, but the people I've worked
with, and especially the students,
have made it all worthwhile."
Badgett la a native of Denison,
1994 graduate of Denis— High
School and holds bachelor and
master’s degrees in architecture
from A4kM, awarded in 1999 end
1939. He was 0 1 * second person
to receive a master's degree in
architecture.
He joined the Texas Engineer
ing Experiment Station at AAM
following graduation. After
World War II he returned as as
sistant manager of construction,
then director of the physical plant,
later manager of the TAMU Sys
tem physical plants and retired
as assistant director of facilities
planning and construetien for the
system. ' •
His community contributions in-
'' duded College Station city coun
cilman from 1948-83, mayor pro-
tem the last two y—rs; 12 years
of service to the Braxos County
Polio Committee, three — chair
man; charter member of Sul Ross
Lodge No. 1300, A FA AM; deacon
and eider of the AAM Presbyter
ian Church, and past president of
the Bras— County Chapter, Re
serve Officers Association. He is
a retired Army Reserve colonel.
Badgett is considered one of
the nation's top authorities on
univeraity physical plant man
agement He was an active mem
ber in the American Society of
H—ting and Ventilating Engi
neers, and helped organise the
original Texas Chapter and many
of the local chapters.
He served as the original sec
retary of the organisation in Tex
as, was a member of technical ad
visory committees and author of
several technical papers published
in technical journals and r—d at
society meetings.
His work with the Association
of Physical Plant Administrators
brought him the Meritorious
Service Award in 1987 at the in
ternational meeting in Montreal,
Canada. He also polished in jour
nals and was a president of the
Central States Region.
When Badgett joined the TAMU
staff, he joined a unique group
of individuals that produced many
of the campus landmarks.
“When I first went to work
the depression had cut into archi
tecture and engineering jobs,**
Badgett related. ** < n»e college ar
chitect pulled in a staff of about
96 Aggie engineers and architects
to work on the biggpet one-time
construction project ap to that
time.
“Included were Hart Hall,
Cushing Library. Animal Indus
tries, Geology-Petroleum Engi
neering, System Administration,
Chemistry and Walton Hall Build
ings, plus the original concrete
work on Kyle Field.”
Badgett pointed —t a little-
known fact of that time.
“Many of those buildings have
a Mexican influence, a result of
chief architect Sam Vesper's love
for a giri in Mexico," he said.
The Mexican architecture of
that time is reflected in the Geol
ogy, Chemistry, Animal Indus
tries, Agricultural Engineering
and System Buildings, all with
tile, mosaic and art work such
as animal heads.
The art work of a girl on the
bronze doors at the System Ad
ministration Building were de
signed by V—per, using Sarah
Orth, daughter of W. A. Orth,
the man who managed the con
struction of that time.
Onw of Badgett's first jobs was
designing the heating systems
for Hart Hall and Cushing Li
brary. He designed the mechani
cal and heating equipment on all
the buildings up to the time he
entered active Army service in
1940.
Badgett said stone for the 1920-
1940 buildings were made on cam
pus where the System Physical
Plant Building now stands. The
only exception was stone work
for the System Building made
where the flag pole now stands.
Another tidbit of the *308 was
construction of the north Chem
istry lab wing and front of the
building by college employees.
Prior to World War II, Badgett
served as an infantry instructor
and assistant editor of publica
tions at the Adjutant Gonoral's
Office ia Washington, D. C.
. He came hack in Novaenber.
1941, “just In time to most my
self going back."
Gen. A. D. Bruce, a 1918 AAM
graduate, assembled a group of
Aggies at Camp Hood (now Fort
Hood) in June. 1942, to build the
camp into what General Bruce
felt should be a regular Army
poet.
Badgett became the first ad
jutant of the camp and friends
■ay he was the architect of the
building program which resulted
in the temporary camp becoming
today one of the major Army fa
cilities in the nation.
Later Badgett went to Com
mand and General Staff College
and was named director of the
8th Area Military Personnel and
Aid Service Command-
He left the Army as a colonel
in 1948.
On his return to Aggieland,
Bsdgett decided to do something
about several buildings which had
sunk three and four inches into
the ground over a period of years.
Guion Hall, which was demol
ished last year to make way for
the new theatre complex, was the
first on the list.
Badgett said the sta«e had set
tled up to fhre inches and had
cracked away from the building.
An army of short men were hired
to dig under stage Being hand
shovels, jacks were hand pumped
to get the stage level end the
stage was pot back into place.
Similar work was done on the
south end of the Academic Build
ing, the whole Cushing Library
and the west wing of the Hospi
tal.
That program took four years,
from 1948-60.
Badgett also IA credited with
starting the denafcory renovation
programs, designed the first air
conditioning systems for the cam
pus and reorganised the physical
plants after the war into one of
(See Badgett retiring, page 7)
AS THE SONG SAYS, A&M seems to be "destroying paradise to put up a parking lot.”
Probably the most picturesque landmark here, the scenic entrance to the university from
Highway 6, is being marred by the construction of a parking area south of the Systems
Building. (Photo by John Curylo)
Education Center funded
by Mott Foundation again
AAM’s Community Education
Center has received second year
funding of 893,000 from the
Charles S. Mott Foundation, an
nounced College of Education
Dean Frank W. Hubert.
The Flint, Mich., foundation
selected TAMU last July as the
location for its community educa
tion center (CEC) in the South
west. It serves Texas, Oklahoma,
Arkansas and Louisiana.
Center director Dr. Robert I.
Berridge noted $40,000 of the
grant will be ueed am “seed mon
ey" to public school districts for
development of community educa
tion programs. ...... „ *
The latest grant funds the cen
ter through June 30, 1979. First
year funding was 878,782, with
seed money going to the school
districts in Midland, Alice and
College Station as demonstration
Chief instructor claims
^ Jjtl A • ,• ‘J* -V \ 'Jfr. * •
Pollution negligible at firemen’s school
Black smoke clouds rolling off
the land near Easterwood Airport
here may represent air pollution
to some people, but to the pro
fessional fire-fighter it represents
lives end dollars saved. And in
the long run lees pollution.
Chief Instructor Henry D.
Smith of AAMk Engineering Ex
tension Service reported Thursday
a recent survey by TAMU scien
tists showed the Firemen's Train
ing School here produces leas than
one-half of one percept of the
pollution in Braxos County each
year.
“The largest portion of this
(pollution) ia fallout of unaatu.-
rated hydrocarbons, or “soot" par
ticles, impregnated with water
from the fire streams," Smith
■aid.
“Data collected indicates no
damage to trees and shrubbery
in the area," the fire training
chief noted.
Smith reported there are more
than 900 fire departments in Tex
as and of those 63 ere fully paid,
202 are part paid and the re
mainder are volunteers from all
walks of life.
“Very few of these depart
ments can afford elaborate train
ing facilities where they can fight
fire under controlled conditions,”
Chief Smith said.
He pointed out the Brayton
Firemen's Training Field built
by AAM is a $760,000 facility
that not only is the beet in the
United States, but “No. I in the
world.”
• Statistics show there are 2,200
fires every day in the U. S. kill
ing 12,000 persona a year. Fire
men are in a dangerous profes
sion, Smith admits, with a fire
man killed in action every five
days in the U. S.
Adding to the fireman’s prob
lems is modern technology. Smith
said the average house fire today
has more than 76 poisonous gases,
and the number ia rising as new
synthetics are introduced.
He added, “one of every ten
trucks traveling our highways is a
potential bomb to firemen. By
this, I mean K is transporting
hazardous material.”
A growing population brings
greater loss of lives and prop
erty. A new fire department is
organized every few days.
Smith said training new re-
rruite and keeping older profes
sionals abreast to modern fire
lighting techniques requires a
continuous training program.
“No football coach would con
sider Adding a team which had
received only skull practice or
classroom training,” the chief in-
1 '
Tower is being removed
from Geosciences building
A 40-year landmark at AAM
is coming down.
The tower on the Geosciences
Building — the former Geology-
Petroleum Engineering Building
— is surrounded by demolition
crews' scaffolding and will be
attacked brick by brick until al
most level with the current roof.
Paul W. Stephens, technical
services manager for the TAMU
System, said the tower is a safety
hazard too expensive to repair.
Cast'stone facings in the tow
er are loose and there ia a dan
ger they could fall.
The tower should be down
within a month. (
Renovations to the buildup, in
cluding laboratories, classrooms
and office space, are included in
the work and will be completed
in December.
Stephens said the building, oc
cupied in 1983, has a tank for
domestic hot water In the tower.
The hot water supply system was
closed down a number of years
ago. The tank ia still inside.
Ceramic tiles on top of the
tower will be saved for depart
mental use.
W. Howard Badgett, who re
tiree this month after 38 yean
managing various campus and
system physical facilities, said
the building is one of several de
signed by Sam Voaper, chief
architect here in the 1920’a and
1980V
Badgett recalls Voeper waa in
love with a girl in Mexico, and
it influenced hie work.
The tile, figure heads and mo
saic on the Geosciences Building
are a reflectlba of Mexican arch
itecture of that time, Bsdgett
said. •
Badgett said a number of at
tempts have been made through
the yean to keep the stone in
place. f
The tower has been a campus
landmark since construction in
1932.
When torn down, the only re
minder of the tower will be a
flat top about three feet above
the roofline.
aista. “Champion golfers don't be
come champions by reading a
book.
“Trained A remen are a must,"
Smith contend*. “We believe the
old football adage, ‘a good of
fense—is the beat defense.'”
Officials .at the school insist
Are training helps reduce air pol
lution substantially.
Smith points out moat of the
project Ares here are extinguish
ed in from one to throe min
utes.
“The knowledge gained here by
Aremen. and the conAdence in
stilled through actual experience,
under Are conditions, helps a
man to quickly control and extin
guish Ares at home,” Smith said.
There have been cases of fire
men running from a blase because
they did not know how to Aght
the Are, he continued. Once the
Aremen are trained, what was
once a- scary situation then be
comes a near routine operation.
Smith professes it is a better
service to train under controlled
conditions to improve Are pro
tection service and in the long
run have better pollution control.
sites.
Berridge said AAM is one of
14 univeraity centers ia the na
tion. The CEC is attached to the
Educational Administration De
partment at the univeraity.
During the past year the CEC
of Ace here conducted eight work
shops attracting 800 Texas school
superintendents. The community
education concept also was ex
posed to the state adi/ft education
meeting and the executive board
of the Texas P.T.A.
Berridge pointed out this year
one of the plane calls for estab
lishment of programs in Arkan
sas and Louisiana, witfc oaefc
state having a coordinator. The
CEC will fund $10,000 to each |
Polling places will
at A&M for future
The College Station City Coun
cil voted Monday night to estab
lish a polling place on the AAM
campus for city elections.
“We need to remember that
this applies to city elections on
ly,” said Jerry Campbell, Student
Government Public Relations
chairman. “A polling place for
the November elections requires
the cooperation of the county gov
ernment.” *.
The motion, which passed una
nimously, read as follows:
"The City Council of the City
of College Station:
”(a) Recalls its obligation to
all voters of this City to provide
state to establish a cooperative
program involving the state edu
cation agencies and LSU and the
Univeraity of Arkansas.
Philanthropist Charles S. Mott
envisioned the community center
program would involve briiqring
public school facilities which are
idle during the summer and at
night into use by the community
—the building owners.
CEC goals and the concept of
community education was given
high priority by the Texas Edu
cation Agency at the State Board
of Education meeting in April.
TEA ia expected to put much
of its rveourres behind the pro
gram during th* year, Dr. Ber
ridge added.
be established
city elections 1 t (
and designate places for voting in
City elections;
“(b) Is anxious to fulfill this
obligation with due regard to the
convenience of citizens end legal
ity of procedures;
“(c) Remembers the large num
ber of voters only recently eli
gible, who live on the Texas AAM
University campus;
“(d) Proposes to establish a
polling place on the Univeraity
campus; and
“(e)Requests the City Manager
to initiate negotiations with the
University for such a polling
place."
Teague not for McGovern,
but will support Democrats
U. S. Hep Olin E. (Tiger) Teague of College Station
has announced his disagreement with the ideas of Demo
cratic Presidential nominee Sen. George McGovern, but he
says he will support Democratic candidates for office.
"I am a Democrat and I believe in our two-party sys
tem," Teague said Thursday. "Between now and November,
I shall use my available time campaigning for Democratic
Members of Congress, as I have been doing for a number
of months, in order to assure a Democratic majority in The
Congress.
"I very much disagree with many of Sen. McGovern’s
policies, however, I shall not vote for Richard Nixon, ‘Teague
continued. “I shall work for all Democratic nominees in the
state of Texas."
A&M to aid Dominican Republic development
iTie tower of the Geosciences Building is being removed
by workmen because it is a safety hazard. It has been a
landmark since 1932. (Photo by Bob Leitz)
An Agency for International
Development (AID) contract for
agricultural development in the
Dominican Republic has been ex
tended with AAM.
The AID contract amendment
of $191,024 was announced by
Congressman Olin E. Teague.
For staffing and on-going
programs in the Dominican Re
public, the amendment brings
the AID contract total to $6,-
191,481, through March. 197$.
The TAMU program coordinator.
William R. Beach of the Inter
national Programs Office, said
th* operating agreement is with
the Secretary of Agriculture in
the Dominican Republic.
Among other facets, the pro
gram graduates Dominican stu
dents from TAMU in studios
that will contribute to overall
agricultural development in th*
Caribbean republic on the Island
of Hispaniola.
Operations in th* Dominican
Republic are headquartered at
the capital, Santo Domingo.
Beach said about 100 students
have graduated under the AID
contract and other agreements
with the government of the Do
minican Republic. The program
will have 36 students on the AAM
campus this fall, under financing
through other agreements and
private sources.
“Some of those students will
be her* on their own,” Beach
noted.
Originated in 1986, the AID-
T AMU D o m i a i c a a program
brought th* first students to
AAM in 1988. The majority of
26 students currently on campus
are under financing through the
Educational Credit Foundation
of the Dominican Republic. The
first ECF students arrived in
1988 and 26 have graduated.
Beach added.
Notice
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas AAM.”
—Adv.
Next week's edition of The Bat
talion will be the annual Fresh
man Edition, which ia sent to
all students who will be new to
AAM this fall.
Th* special edition will be in
thro* sections. The first will be
th* usual weekly edition of Th*
Battalion. Th* second part will be
a look at the sport* picture for
the coming year, and th* third
section features student life as it
affects the freshmen.