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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1980)
Local THE BATTALION Page 3 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1980 "Fish Lady’ has no rank, hut freshmen rank her high her By MARCY BOYCE I Battalion Staff I She’s the fish lady to all who know ||r, a mom away from home to many a homesick cadet. But don’t believe her when she says she’s “just a plain 11 ole Ruth. ” rv I IJ Ruth Hunt doesn’t wear a uniform 111i r ‘ s s ^ e as y oun s as an v t ^ e cadets who surround her, yet she has | been a familiar face among the ranks I the Texas A&M University Corps J| Cadets for at least 13 years. And t, beyond)![every year she boasts a record for arliament,Steeping freshmen from dropping out tc was iii of the Corps, said Roy Brantley, office wi;; Corps public relations officer, r,i If She is the fish lady. ,. ; Following a pass-by for her on the ^ ^ er ’[Corps Quad Tuesday night, Ruth u rresidetilfcj Corps Staff s guest of honor for nner in Duncan Dining Hall. I “She really loves to talk to folks in je Corps and help them in any way >e can,” Brantley said of the fish |dy. “Some commanding officers yen require their freshmen to go ilk to her before seriously thinking bout getting out (of the Corps),” he century, H ■e the only Section. \ to draw |* Hoover lias >ry. While 1 n’t as ba :n’t real!; robleras w ) some reiml e). But ?r lost on nilitywiti ht things,! may have hat was all H rtant ist ofhisfol ■ political Beyond the pin ball machines in e MSC basement and in front of e snack bar, Ruth sits at the same |ble Monday through Thursday iomings — never alone. She is al ways surrounded by cadets and imetimes a few other students. Why such affinity for the Corps? “It would be as hard to tell you that what the spirit of Aggieland is,” e said, “but mainly just because I llove them. I “I can hardly wait every morning to get out here. I tell people I live in ■allege Station and sleep in Bryan.” I Ruth said she works at night in stead of day as a cashier/hostess at lunada Inn so she can visit in the mornings. K It was while working as a waitress at the Ramada Inn on Texas and Uni- iversity in 1967 that Ruth said her friendship with the Corps first pegan. I Before many fast-food restaurants came to Bryan-College Station, stu dents frequented the hotel res- lurant, she said. “Some kids who were working on nfire started coming in there. I really got involved with the jock out fit. There were eight or 10 of them, and they started calling it the Ruth Club,” she said. L The Ruth Club escorted her to bonfire that year, and after Texas A&M received an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl, the club sent her a Christmas card containing a ticket to the football game. I Since 1967 Ruth has missed few home football games or Corps func tions. She has attended some away games as a guest of the Aggie Band and her mail box is seldom empty. I T live alone and living alone is lonely,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll go home and feel kind of depressed, but then there will be a card in the box with a baby announcement or a wed ding invitation.” | Such correspondence from her : photo Dy Greg l Ruth Hunt, more commonly known as “Mom” to cadets, re views the Corps before dinner at Duncan Dining Hall Wednesday night. Assisting her are (left) Roy Brantley, Com mander of the Ross Volunteers, and (center) Col. Robert Gibson, Naval Science professor and Deputy Commandant of the Corps. former fish always perks her up, Ruth said. “Just because they’re not fish any more doesn’t mean I quit loving them,” she said. But Ruth admitted that freshmen are most dear to her because she feels the first year in the Corps is especially rough. She said she tries to give them encouragement and advice for any problems they have. And if she doesn’t know the answer she pulls a senior aside to get his advice. “Nothing warms my heart more than to see one (of those fish) go across the stage at graduation in his boots and get his degree,” Ruth said, her class of’84 pin dangling from her shirt collar. Last year she wore a class of ’83 pin. And over the years she said she has received so much Corps and band brass that she can’t wear it all at the same time. The brass is pinned on a vest she intends to wear only on special occasions, she said. In 1972 Corps Staff nominated her for Mother of the Year. And after she won, Alpha Phi Omega, a campus service organization, paid her way to Nebraska for a football game! “They (the Corps) makes me feel like a queen instead of just a plain ole Ruth,” she said. “They’re just my whole world. ” And the fish lady doesn’t hesitate to share her enthusiasm for the Corps with prospective Aggies — a self-appointed recruiter who says she can’t remember the last time she missed a freshman orientation. “I made my mind up at that bon fire (in 1967) that I was never going to leave these kids. And I’m going to keep coming around until some senior has to tell a fish to get a wheel chair and go get Ruth.” Backpacking skills offered ag Outdoors seminar tonight have and a By JANE G. BRUST Battalion Staff Anyone interested in escaping to the great outdoors may take ad van- hind the t&hage of several programs being /ilson isaPbiferedby the MSC Outdoor Recrea- •espect vet)?Hon Committee this month, shetookell T wo backpacking seminars, nr commeiittonight and next Thursday, as well as | ve[ | Saturday workshop will precede a ■ ' trip to Huntsville State Park on Nov. 15. S3S j L Signups for four-day camping trips ts and alitf [ | over the Thanksgiving holidays are ey hired, also available through Outdoor Re- re! creation. Tonight’s seminar concerns back packing equipment, and the one next week concerns skills in using that equipment. Each seminar will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Rudder Tower. Equipment for backpacking trips is provided by Outdoor Recreation. Saturday’s workshop is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of the Acade mic Building. The 9-mile Lone Star Trail in Huntsvilles State Park will test the backpackers the following weekend. Committee Chairman Bryan Hall estimates the cost of the weekend trip will be $10 for food and gas. Interested persons may sign up in the Student Programs Office in the MSC. Hall said 10 to 40 people make such weekend trips and the commit tee will offer additional backpacking trips if more than 40 people are in terested. Eager backpackers may venture beyond Huntsville to celebrate Thanksgiving. Signups for backpack ing trips to New Mexico and Arkan sas are available in the SPO. A sig nup for a canoeing and kayaking trip to Big Bend National Park is also available. Roy Crtj s accompan! CY rd,W words ill 6 inger. Thedtif rle and hgth ‘ or s intent bd ) welcome, as letters, rf": ■or, The Balttl> ’ ty, College Slid'S Our Hours Fit Your Hours. No Hassle Hair and No Hassle Hours. We’re now open until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. 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