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Dale Clark was crestfallen when his father, a Corvallis
veterinarian, told his son that he would need to leave town to attend
college because his favorite school had no veterinary program at that
time. The young Dale hoped that maybe, just maybe, that would not be
true by the time he was ready for college.
Martin N. Kelley, retired vice president and chief engineer of Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc., of Omaha, Neb., has been named as recipient of the 2002 E.B. Lemon Distinguished Alumni Award by the OSU Alumni Association. The E.B. Lemon Award has been given annually since 1981, and winners are selected and honored both for their professional achievements and service to the university. Kelley, a 1950 OSU civil engineering graduate, is often referred to as a legend at Kiewit and an "engineer’s engineer." Kelley was hired by Peter Kiewit Sons’ in 1954 and began a professional relationship that would last until his retirement in 1991 and several years beyond as a consultant. He was appointed chief engineer for Kiewit in 1968 and in 1974 was promoted to the position of vice president. In 1982 he was named president of Kiewit Engineering Company and three years later became director of the Kiewit Construction Group. Kelley is past president and chairman of the board of the OSU Foundation and serves as a member of the board’s executive committee. He is also a member of the College of Engineering Foundation. In 1990, he made a $5 million gift to OSU, at that time the largest single gift ever made to the university by an individual alumnus. He also personally funded the cost of the covered walkway that now connects the CH2M HILL Alumni Center to LaSells Stewart Center. He recently donated $20 million for construction of a new engineering building.
Back in 1952, rap was a knock on the door, a laptop was a blanket and fast food was a quick lunch before a 1 o’clock class. As members of OSU’s class of 1952 returned to campus this June to celebrate their 50th reunion and induction into OSU’s Golden Jubilee Association, they recalled college life in the mid-20th century. The Alumni Association sponsors a Golden Jubilee reunion each year for alumni who have been out of college for at least 50 years. Jeannette Workman Baker, vice president of the senior class of 1952, reminded classmates about freshmen green ribbons and beanies, curfews, nickel hops, In and Out burgers, saddle shoes and white anklets. Dave Smith explained that in 1952, gas cost 20 cents a gallon, a year’s tuition at Oregon State College was $192, and a year’s room and board was $500. "Some of you fellows had a 30-inch waist and lots of hair," said Smith. "And a haircut cost $1.24." He recalls packing the MU ballroom to hear Stan Kenton, Tex Beneke and other big bands. A campus tour, led by Oregon Stater editor George Edmonston Jr., was a literal stroll down memory lane … a chance to recall skinny dipping in the Men’s Gymnasium, late-for-curfew crawls through dorm windows, and a smoke or two on the Waldo Hall fire escape. "Our class was actually smaller than some of the preceding classes, because they had been swelled by returning World War II veterans," said Ken Harding at the class meeting. "And then the Korean War came along." As he recited names of fellow students who served in the Korean War he referred to the question posed by a famous historian, "Where did they find such people?" "I’d have to say," said Harding, "one of the places is Oregon State." In the 50 years since graduation, members of the class of 1952 have had children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and step- children. They have married, divorced, been widowed, worked, volunteered, served in the military and won awards.
Some career highlights from those who attended the reunion: Allison Logan-Belcher has been a juvenile court counselor, teacher, case manager, nurse, chairman of the Multnomah County Democrats and co-founder of Riverfront for People, which resulted in the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Don Butsch, a licensed pharmacist, was mayor of Newport, served in the Oregon House of Representatives and is currently chair of Gov. Kitzhaber’s Commission on Senior Services. Art Chiu is emeritus professor of civil engineering at the University of Hawaii and life member, honorary member and fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. An endowment at the University of Hawaii was established by a former student in 1997 in his name. Jack Geer was elected a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers and made a lifetime honorary member of the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Ironworkers. He worked on the construction of high rise office buildings, powerhouses, missile silos, bridges and large steel ocean platforms. He currently is a consultant on the seismic retrofit of the Golden Gate Bridge. Arthur "Jerry" Matches worked as a research agronomist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Missouri. After retiring, he filled the Thornton Distinguished Chair in Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech University. William Maxwell received master’s and doctoral degrees in education from Harvard and went on to work as head of the School of Education at the University of the South Pacific. He is currently a professor of educational psychology at Ottawa University in Phoenix, Ariz. Donna McVey sailed around the world shortly after marrying in 1952, and later spent three years commercial fishing, four years as a co-pilot of a private plane in the Arctic and Northwest Territories, and three years gold mining in Alaska and the Yukon. Tony Van Vliet worked in forestry extension as well as career planning and placement at OSU until retiring in 1990. He served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1975 to 1995 and spent 15 years on the House Ways and Means Committee. —Patricia Filip
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