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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1990)
The Battalion ATE & LOCAL Wednesday, February 7,1990 w-cnata lUse of li )f 1 the yeryone i- e ntiona| few ill rifles i<)oting s would tin guns deni. ‘‘derlaiv tgto also liddlea with out a iot do of more ns. (tisj ich iyand this y there I emi- ica. It rifles: t Hacks so are s ot quite )le in eapons ■y, and much ?al Former student wins $10M Castleberry becomes overnight millionaire from Publishers’ Clearing House Sweepstakes By DAPHNE MILLER Of The Battalion Staff Everyone dreams of winning the Publishers’ Clearing House Sweepstakes, but a former Texas A&M student doesn’t have to dream anymore. On March 29, 1989, Robert Castleberry, who at tended A&M in 1946 and 1947, became the first per son in Texas and the second in the nation to win the $10 million Publishers’ Clearing House Sweepstakes. Castleberry answered a knock on his door in Den ton on March 29 to find a fortune that would follow him for the rest of his life. “It was late in the afternoon, about six, and I opened my door to find five Publishers’ Clearing House officials standing there,” Castleberry said. “One man was holding a bouquet of fresh flowers, one a bottle of champagne, one a video camera, an other with a bright light and one with a big sign that had Publishers’ Clearing House Sweepstakes Winner with my name on it.” He said it was a tremendous surprise and over whelming to say the least. It was so amazing that he felt weak-kneed and had to sit down, he said. “It all started about seven or eight years ago,” Castleberry said. “I got interested in sweepstakes and consistently entered the Publishers’ Clearing House.” He said he always hoped to win, but never thought he would. The only thing he had ever won was a set of towels from a drawing at work, Castle berry said. “Things have not been the same since my big win,” he said. 66 I have been having a great time, to say the least.” — Robert Castleberry, sweepstakes winner Castleberry, 60, received $500 thousand in 1989 and will receive $250 thousand a year for 30 years. At the end of the 30 years, he will receive the rest of the $10 million, $2.3 million, in one lump sum. He has given some money to charities and estab lished a scholarship at A&M, the University of North Texas and I exas Women’s University, Castleberry said. While attending A&M, the sweepstakes winner was an animal husbandry and pre-veterinary medi cine major and a member of the field artillery of the Corps of Cadets. The Robert L. Castleberry — Class of 1950 Scholarship will be awarded to a freshman member of the Corps, who will receive $1,000 an nually. The UNT scholarship is in memory of his brother, Claude Castleberry Jr., who was killed at the beginning of World War II when the USS Ari zona was sunk at Pearl Harbor. The TWU (his moth er’s alma mater) scholarship is in memory of his par ents, Claude and Isla Castleberry. “I did not want to make any big changes fast,” Castleberry said. He has cautiously invested some of his money, and on Monday he became the proud owner of a 100-acre ranch in Denton, he said. Winning the sweepstakes has given him the op portunity to retire early from Moore Business Forms, Inc. He was in sales management there for 34 years. He plans to use some of the money to run for mayor of Denton, Castleberry said. Due to the amount of publicity, he has a high-rec ognition factor, he said. “I have received more publicity than any other winner,” he said. Castleberry said he was on a flight to Jackson Hole, Wyo., when a flight attendant recognized and congratulated him. He said he cannot go anywhere that someone does not recognize him. He has been a guest on several television talk shows, such as “Third Degree,” “On The Line” in Fort Worth and “Kelly and Company” in Detroit. When the men came to his house in March to con vey the good news of him winning, they taped it and made it into a commercial, Castleberry said. The commercial was aired the first 10 days of July and two weeks during the Christmas holiday, he said. “I have received a lot of phone calls and mail since my lucky day,” Castleberry said. At first, people would call or write to congratulate him, he said. Now, the majority of the calls and let ters are requesting money. Most of the requests are sincere, he feels, but a lot of them are bogus. “I have been having a great time, to say the least,” he said. lation led into st the jails- elony issession ;n plea- mors, ia's 15- and r colors, •'ive rent the ien. )] shifts ii a iminals, idenl ftt l of and 8th Annual Run for the Arts Saturday, February 17, 1990 5K run & 1 mile run/walk By: TAMU Roadrunners & MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society CAN YOUR STUDENT ORGANIZATION TAKE THE CHALLENGE? Trophies will be awarded to the student group, in each of the following divi sions, with the largest number of members participating in Run for the Arts. These awards have nothing to do with the results of either race. Divisions: Corps Unit, Fraternity, Sorority, Residence Hall, & other student organization (any other university recognized group) Time/Place: Entry Fee: Registration: Awards: Performers: G. Rollie White Coliseum; 9:00am - 1 mile; 9:30am - 5K $9 if postmarked by 2/9 or by on-campus registration $11 day of the race * cost includes Beefy-T with race logo * mail entry form with check payable to MSC OPAS to: Run for the Arts c/o MSC OPAS Box J-l Texas A&M University College Station, Texas 77844 Will be available Mon.-Fri., 10am-4pm, in the MSC Feb. 5-16 & in Blocker Feb, 12-16 5K - Trophies to first overall male and female and top three entrants in each age category 1 mile - Trophies to first overall male and female and ribbons to next five males and five females Will be at G. Rollie White and lining the 5K course For further information call James Schroeter at 693-8391 Name: Entry Form for Run for the Arts (one entry per form; duplications acceptable; please print) Age on 2/17/90_ Address: Phone: Sex: M F Race: 5K 1 mile T-shirt: M L XL Student Group Signature: Date:. (parent or legal guardian must sign if entrant under age 18) Waivei': I waive all claims for myself, my administrators, my heirs, against all officials, sponsors, and organizations connected with Run for the Arts for injury or illness resultant from participation in this event. I further verify that I am physically fit to compete. Party chairman envisions more change as Republicans move ahead in Texas By ANDY KEHOE Of The Battalion Staff If things go Fred Meyer’s way, Texas politics will be in the hands of more Republicans and fewer Demo crats. Meyer, chairman of the Republi can Party of Texas, spoke to the Texas A&M College Republicans Tuesday and urged them to get in volved in Texas politics. “I feel that the Republican Party can effectively turn the state around and put it back on the road to recov ery,” Meyer said. “I’m working to see that it will happen this year.” He said his primary goal is to es tablish the Republican Party as the majority party in Texas following re districting in 1991. Progress has been made already, Meyer said, since he persuaded seve ral incumbent Democrat officials to switch over to the Republican Party and since the Republicans won two Texas House seats during special elections. “With this election, we are going to challenge the Democratic incum bents more than ever,” Meyer said. “I suspect we’ll pick up one to three congressional seats in this election.” When Meyer was elected chair man of the Dallas County Republi can Party in 1979, he said, approxi mately 10 percent of the county’s elected officials w 7 ere Republicans. At the end of his term in 1986, al most 80 percent of the elected offi cials belonged to the Republican Party, Meyer said. The Republican Primary will be March 13. In the governor’s race, the Republican candidates are Clay ton Williams, Jack Rains, Kent Hance, Tom Luce, Royce X. Owens, W.N. Outwell Jr. and Edward P. Cude. Other offices to be polled in the primary include comptroller, state treasurer, land commissioner, Photo by Fredrick D.Joe Fred Meyer Texas agricultural commissioner, and railroad commissioner. Since the primary falls during spring break, students can vote ab sentee. Absentee balloting will begin Feb. 21 and run until March 6. AH voters must be registered by Mon day. Meyer, elected chairman in June 1988, also serves as president and chairman of the board at Aladdin Industries Inc., a manufacturing firm headquartered in Nashville. Correction A story in Tuesday’s Battalion about African-American fraterni ties and sororities incorrectly identified the name of one soror ity. The organization's correct name is Delta Sigma Theta. The Battalion regrets the er ror.