Page 2
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, August 22, 1973
THE BATTALION
A&M Runs Deep In Alsineyer Family
LAKEYIUW CLUI
Henry L. Alsmeyer Sr. started
something in 1923 when his de
gree in agricultural engineering
was awarded at A&M.
His son and grandson are fol
lowing in his footsteps.
David Alsmeyer completed
work for his B.S. in mathematics
in July. He was among the first
summer commencement graduates
Friday night. He is now a gradu
ate student and teaches algebra
as a graduate assistant in the
Math Department.
His father has worked at A&M
nine years. But Henry Jr.’s first
degree from A&M, and his fourth,
won’t come until December.
The University Library’s as
sistant director for technical
services is a Ph.D. candidate in
English.
So the university’s next two
commencements will be of special
interest to Mr. and Mrs. Henry
L. Alsmeyer Sr., 600 Woodson Dr.
“It will feel mighty good,” com
mented Bryan and College Sta
tion’s Outstanding Senior Citizen
of 1972. “It’ll be wonderful . . .
the best feeling I know of.” He
had another son, Ray, graduate
here in 1952.
He agreed that his namesake’s
delay is “better late than never.”
Henry Jr. earned his bachelor
degree in journalism at Texas in
1948. The master’s in English at
Texas A&I in 1958 was followed
by an M.S. in library science at
LSU in 1966, the year he joined
the library faculty.
The library official worked
earlier at A&M in the University
Information Office.
David also beat his father
starting studies for his first A&M
degree, four years ago. It in
cluded a year of study and credit
from the University of St. An
drews in Scotland. Though a
friend, Jan Wight, of that visit
is presently a guest here, he’s
anxious to return to Scotland. He
figures he has about a year of
work remaining to complete his
master’s in math.
Batt Record Review
LP’s From Old Friends
By TED BORISKIE
In a flood of late summer re
leases, we find entries by three
old standbys who have long since
established themselves a leader
in popular music. Being so es
tablished, these albums are re
leased not to prove anything but
rather to offer the listener a view
of the extension of the artists’
work.
America’s favorite bad boy, Sly,
is back with his Family Stone in
an album that is his most realized
to date. Sly’s previous albums
had been inconsistent at best and
his most stable entry was the col
lection of greatest hits that merci
fully could avoid the low points
that had plagued his standard re
leases.
“Fresh,” the name of his latest
effort, is just that; fresh and
alive as nothing he has done be
fore.
In ’70 and ’71 we had to rely
on the greatest hits album and a
few reissues of early material for
any taste of Mr. Stone as he went
into a creative depression that
almost signalled the end for his
highly energized brand of music.
He became notorious for not
showing up at concerts which
strained the loyalty of his fans.
After the two-year layoff, he
slipped back into the scene with
the mildly disappointing “There’s
A Riot Coin’ On.” On “Riot”
we got a more personal glimpse
of Sly on a work that was in
credibly laid back for him.
On “Fresh” Sly is giving us his
personal visions with all the funk,
drive and rock and soul spirit
that made the early works such
a joy. He is not just inviting us
to “Dance to the Music” or “Sing
a Simple Song” as he did years
ago but is now defending the
“Skin I’m In” and looking at
“Babies Makin’ Babies.”
The album flows along so well
that no cut really stands out, but
“In Time” and “If You Want
Me To Stay” features some dy
namic bass lines and horns which
are out of this world. On “Que
Sera Sera” Sly succeeds where
numerous others, particularly a
certain Mr. Cocker, have failed
and gives an old standard (a
Doris Day song, no less) a fan
tastically new approach.
Sly’s music comes from a my
riad of influences, rock, soul,
rhythm and blues, jazz, voodoo,
and countless others. However,
,Sly can’t be pinned down in any
of these categories but instead
carries a bit of them all into his
songs. Out of this comes a style
that is strictly his own and so
unique to be immediately recog
nizable.
“Fresh” is Sly and the Family
Stone at their very best which
leaves little else to say.
All Van Morrison fans should
have guessed that an album like
“Hard Nose the Highway” was
coming. This is an almost pure
jazz LP which is not a major de
parture for the Belfast Cowboy
with his lightly jazzy “Astral
Weeks” and “Moondance” already
behind him but it is a departure
nonetheless.
All in all, he handles himself
quite nicely; in fact, this could
be one of the top jazz albums of
the year.
Just recently he said he was
not a rock ‘n’ roll singer and
this album proves it. There is
not a hint of rock on either side.
Van Morrison has always been
one of the top singers around but
his albums have required intensive
listening to realize the full
beauty of his voice and his totally
unique phrasings. “Hard Nose”
will probably require even more
intense study to comprehend.
This is one of Morrison’s more
beautiful albums, one which finds
him relaxed and untroubled, sur
prising in that it was recorded in
the midst of a divorce from his
wife, Janet Planet, whose influ
ence was extremely evident on his
last four releases.
No one really knows if the
Irishman plans to continue in this
vein as he claimed this album was
“all in the past” even before its
release. Judging from his history
of numerous changes in style, one
can only suppose that he is telling
the truth and this, like all the
others, is only a temporary phase.
Van Morrison has never made
a bad album and this is no excep
tion. The several listenings re
quired to grasp the total effect
of this album will be time well
spent.
The Grateful Dead have releas
ed yet another live album, “The
History of the Grateful Dead
(Bear’s Choice)”. This should un
doubtedly make them the “livest”
of all groups.
This one is something special,
however. It is designed as a tri
bute to one of the finest drunks
around, Ron “Pig Pen” McKernan.
Massive cirrosis finally killed
Pig Pen earlier this year, elimi
nating one of the stronger forces
of the early Grateful Dead. Pig
Pen’s role had been played down
in recent years, partially due to
continued illness, but he had more
influence over the rest of the
group than did anyone else.
“Bear’s Choice” is a typically
good live set from the Dead re
corded in 1970. Pig Pen sings
“Katie Mae”, “Smokestack Light
ening” and “Hard To Handle”
which painfully show us how much
he will be missed.
This is one of the best tribute
albums ever released, mainly be
cause it doesn’t sound like a tri
bute album. It sounds like
Grateful Dead concert with Pig
Pen as just one of the boys, which
is fine because that’s all he ever
was.
Cbe Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those Of The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is
the editor or o, the writer of the erticle e„d are not KK'* ^
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“Since we lived here, A&M was
the logical place for me to study,”
the lanky—like his grandfather
and father—student stated mat-
ter-of-factly. “I never really
considered any place else.”
David admitted he might have
been slightly indoctrinated.
“As a youngster, I had a ‘T’
short with ‘I’m A Little Texas
Aggie’ across the front given to
me by Grandfather,” he smiled.
“It’s all due to the elder Als-
meyer’s perserverance and ac
cepting a timely challenge, qual
ities that endear him to local
organizations. He’s a key worker
in the Brazos County Civil De
fense, among others.
Henry Sr. came to Texas from
Wisconsin in 1912. He joined
the Army before finishing high
school at Mission. After the war
including an overseas stint with
the American Expeditionary
Forces, he followed a younger
brother, Louis, Class of ’21, to
A&M by enrolling in an auto
motive institute, for lack of the
high school diploma.
Alsmeyer’s abilities led his in
structors to suggest he become a
regular student. He did it in
“Distinguished Student” fashion
He taught vocational agriculture
in the Rio Grande Valley and
became Cameron County agent in
1925 succeeding his brother.
Alsmeyer retired in 1952 and
went overseas as agricultural
advisor in the Point Four Pro
gram. Then he “retired” again
to move back to Bryan.
A&M runs deep in the Alsmeyer
family.
July’s Rainfall
Back To Normal
July rainfall resumed a more
normal rate in Bryan and College
Station, falling almost six inches
below the 7.83-inch average for
June.
Thirty-one weather observers
in an A&M meteorology research
network averaged 1.90 inches for
the month, making it the driest
of 1973.
Both July precipitation and
temperatures were below normal,
noted Dr. Dennis Driscoll of
A&M’s Meteorology Department.
Average for July is 2.6 inches
and 83.6 degrees. Easterwood
Airport recorded an 83.0 degree
mean for the month.
A similar weather pattern is
expected for the next 30 days. The
National Weather Service outlook
for mid-August to mid-September
includes below normal tempera
tures of 81.2 degrees and near
normal rainfall of 2.6 inches.
July precipitation distribution
favored the area bounded by State
Hwy. 6, Villa Maria Road and
East 29th Street. Observers in
the tract recorded from 2.29 to
2.58 inches, about a half inch
more than the rest of the Carters
Creek catchment area.
Steep Hollow came up with the
low total for July, with 1.18
inches. A few isolated two-inch
readings were taken at Kurten,
south of Texas Hwy. 30 and near
Old College Road.
Most of the month’s rainfall
was recorded on July 5, 7 and 26.
Most stations recorded rain on
four to six days. The Flight Serv
ice Station at Easterwood had 12
rain days; the Meteorology De
partment weather station, 13, for
2.29 inches.
Rainfall tabulations for the
twin cities this year have gone
over the monthly norm four times,
with February, April and July
falling short.
‘El Chico’
Restaurant
To Open Here
John Culpepper announced
plans for construction of an El
Chico Restaurant in the Manor
East Shopping Center.
Construction date will be an
nounced later.
The El Chico Corporation has
surpassed $24 million in total
sales and encompasser 70 restau
rants, a commissary, a trucking
fleet and a warehouse chain.
This will be the first El Chico
restaurant to open in the Bryan-
College Station area.
3 Miles N. On Tabor Road
Saturday Night: Tommy Overstreet &
The Nashville Express
From 9 - 1 p. m.
STAMPEDE Every Thursday Nite
(ALL BRANDS BEER 35?)
Sell y
Sb
Auto
epplianc
XEROX COPIES
5c EACH
Spank
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Monday thru Friday 9 a. m. - 10 p. m.
Saturday & Sunday 10 a. m. - 10 p. m.
MSC BROWSING LIBRARY
2nd Floor New MSC
Om
Announces The Opening Of A Ticket Booth 9 In Convenient
Manor East Mall, On Monday, August 20.
Both 0P^$ Season Tickets And Rotary Community Series
Season Tickets May Be Ordered There.
Hours: 11a.m. - 5p.m., Monday Through Saturday.
Support (jPbS And Rotary By Reserving Your Seats Now.
The OP AS Series
Itzhak Perlman, violinist—Dec. 5, 1973
Van Cliburn, pianist—Jan. 17, 1974
National Ballet of Washington—Jan. 31, 1974
“The Marriage of Figaro,” opera—Feb. 27, 1974
Marisa Galvany, soprano—April 9, 1974
Houston Symphony—April 25, 1974
The Rotary Community Series
: ‘No Sex Please, We're British,” comedy—Oct. 22, 1971
‘The Comedy of Errors”—The National Players—
Dec. 4, 1973
“Brigadoon,” musical—Feb. 11, 1974
“Prisoner of Second Avenue”—A Neil Simon comedy—
March 24, 1974
OP AS and Rotary are functioning committees of the Townhall Committee of Texas A&M University.
P. S. It’s Never Too Late To Become An (J^^5 Member.
Call 845-4671 For Information.
Season tickets may also be ordered by completing and mailing this coupon.
FROM
(Please print or type full name)
(Phone)
ADDRESS
(Street and Number)
(City and State)
(Zip)
Enclosed find stamped, self-addressed envelope and $.
Make checks payable to:
Texas A&M University
Mail or deliver order to:
Memorial Student Center
Student Programs Office
Box 5718
College Station, Texas 77844
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
Regular
s
□
$24.75
□
$18A3
Students zvith
0
1
A&M activity
card
d
□
$17.95
□
$13.60
Other students
o
u
□
$21.50
□
$16.63
for Rotary tickets, Q at $16.50 each
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