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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1977)
Writing is rewriting THE BATTALION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1977 Page 5 "Legion sat for a mouth gaping, color . an J : ptery writer J. f E4r‘ lids k: lk pra ii'tgeii Battalion photo by Phyllis West Pierce tells how mystery writing is a g research post pens in Amarillo theolli ie cut-ri isfp a ! : uchl sislant Secretary of Agriculture ert Cutler cited agriculture’s t profile at the formal opening Texas AikM University Ag- tural and Research Extension er in Amarillo. lening of the Amarillo facility (light 1 iletes Texas A&M’s multimill thedli (ollar statewide network of ; only I hand extension centers. Th at high >rs emphasize crops and com ties economically important to arious regions of Texas. They ointly operated by the Texas ultural Extension Service and • M fexas Agricultural Experiment ^ 1 e Amarillo center specializes in ams supporting the beef cattle itry in the High Plains, tier was joined in dedicatory rks by Carrol Chaloupka, Texas Bureau president, and Clyde Veils, chairman of the Texas University System Board of nts. e assistant secretary said the and fiber industry is enjoying a :r profile today than it has for ' years. his is a climate in which we to do our basic jobs—to see aeeded food and fiber are there s when we need it, while pro- ig the quality of human life in America.” pointed out that the federal- partnership in agriculture has off by providing the strength to with problems at all levels, griculture is the nation’s ;st industry, having assets of $531 billion and representing '-fifths of the total capital assets 511 CfNl» (Villi! of all manufacturing corporations in the nation.’’ Chaloupka cited the farmer’s plight of being in a period of rising production costs and falling farm prices—a 6 percent decline during the past year. “During the same period, our production costs rose by 5 percent, said the Texas Farm Bureau presi dent. “And our costs would have been greater had it not been for bargain feed prices. The cost-price squeeze in agriculture has brought the many Texas farmers and ranch ers to the breaking point.” Our present situation demands that we reduce our costs, he con tinued. “For this reason, farmers and ranchers in Texas and particu larly those of us in this area are look ing to the results that could come from this research and extension center.” In officially opening the new Amarillo center. Wells said the facil ity will help pave the way for de termining new and more efficient techniques for producing and mar keting products economically im portant to the High Plains. “Nowhere in Texas is the eco nomic base so dependent on agricul ture as it is in the High Plains,” noted Wells. “This vast land re source, devoted to both irrigated and dry-land agriculture, produced over 18 percent of the total agricul tural income in the state last year. Agriculture in this area faces sev eral severe tests with the list headed by problems involving irrigation water and the large increase in energy costs,” he said. moment, his suffusing his face. He seemed to grow large, be come increasingly apoplectic. Then, in a puff of smoke, he teas gone, and a faint odor of sulfur tainted the air. ” — “Devil to Pay,” a short story by J.F. Pierce BY PHYLIS WEST Mystery writing is a game, said J. F. Peirce, Texas’ most prolific mys tery writer. Peirce, an English professor at Texas A&M for about 31 years, said Wednesday he believes his mind is built for mysteries. “I like mental puzzles. It gives me satisfaction to solve mysteries.” “Writing is only one part of my life,” said Peirce. He also likes teaching, spending time with his family, living in a small town and being at ANM. Peirce writes off-beat mystery stories in which he tries to make the reader believe a plot that is far from reality. Peirce was honored for the seventh time by the Honor Roll of Best Detective Stories of the Year. Making the reader suspend his disbelief is what mystery writing is all about, Peirce said. Conservatively dressed in a chec kered suit coat, Peirce leaned slightly back in his chair. After a pensive moment, he lifted his brows and his serious frown turned into a smile. His eyes seemed to sparkle whenever he talked about his writ ings. “When I see and hear something, I see a relationship between reality and illusion — from that I develop a plot,” he said. “I get inspiration from reading newspaper columns, dreams, read ing quotations, a picture or group of pictures or something that arouses me, Peirce said. Mobil donates to engineers, adds $5,300 Officials of Mobil Oil Corporation awarded Thursday $5,300 to Texas ANM University s engineering pro gram . Charles Reinke Jr., senior re gional recruiting coordinator from Dallas, and Bruce Holman, division operations engineer from Mobil s Houston offices, delivered the checks. Reinke noted that the grants are part of a giving program that will net Texas AN M a total of $29,000 from Mobil this year. The checks included $1,700 for petroleum engineering, $1,200 for chemical engineering, $1,200 for civil engineering and $1,200 for mechanical engineering. Department heads Dr. Charles Holland, Dr. Gordon Hopkins, Dr. Charles Samson, Dr. William Von- gonten and Robert Walker, vice chancellor for development repre sented Texas ANM. Earlier in the week, Mobil repre sentatives delivered $8,500 to sup port other programs at Texas ANY!. He has recently sent out a 55,000 word novel for publication that was based on a newspaper picture of chalk lines drawn on a sidewalk. “I wondered what kind of person would draw such lines,” Peirce said. He entitled the book “The Out line of Death.” “My characters are not as in teresting as I would like them to be,” he said. But he said his characters are also made up of bits and pieces of people he has known. He partially used the A&M campus for background in his stories occurring at college cam puses. “I’m mentally involved in my stories, but I’m seldom emotionally involved, he said. He added that he has been emotionally involved in only two or three stories. One of which was “The Pale Face of the Rider.” The story was about an artist who thought his child was special because she was a dwarf. Be cause the artist couldn’t change the world in which the child lived, he decided to create a special world for the child. “Writing is the act of rewriting,” Peirce said. It takes him six draffs to write a story, whereas he has a friend who can write smoothly in one draff. He said that writing is dif ficult, but “it’s a compulsion with me to write,” he added. Peirce’s interest in writing came when he was a child from an English teacher who used to read “The Hardy Boys ”, “Tom Swift” and other stories to him and other neighborhood children. Peirce said that because there was no television when he was growing up, he would create his own mental pictures by reading several books a week. “I think that is why I’m so de scriptive in my writings now,” he said. At college, Peirce studied speech, theater and English. And although he said he has to “find the time to write, Peirce has written six novels and 125 to 150 stories. “I prefer being a teacher to a writer,” Peirce said. Chairman of creative writing at A&M, he also teaches writing classes. Peirce said that he lets his stu dents write what they are interested in. “They shouldn’t be writing for money. In most cases, their stories will never see publication so they should write what gives them plea sure,” he said. Peirce likes the students and the atmosphere of A&M. He remem bers when A&M was in a small town atmosphere. “Now it’s getting too big. I’d like to go back to when there were 5000 people,” he said smiling. Not only has A&M changed, but the writing market has shrunk dra matically, Peirce said. There will always be a market for mysteries though, he added. “I do believe we need to change. I’ve tried to change. But I prefer an old-fashioned story with a begin ning, a middle and an end. Very lit tle experimental writing appeals to me,” Peirce concluded. Embrey’s Jewelry We Specialize In Aggie Rings. 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